Wicked Ways
by blah65
Summary: Wicked Musicalverse. Elphaba and Fiyero are doing fine, until Boq has suspicions that Elphaba didn't melt. COMPLETED!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a few characters…you'll know which ones they are.

Warning: Spoilers for the musical! And there will probably be some mild language later on.

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so while great reviews are wonderful, I'd appreciate something I could work on, so I can improve. It's mostly musical based, but Elphaba is allergic to water like in the book…though she can't be melted by it…just go with it.

Elphaba woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. Instinctively, she jolted up, then realizing she was okay, laid back down in the comfortable bed. Suddenly, the memory of what had happened the night before hit her like a brick. She sighed, thinking of her supposed death. Then she swung her legs out of bed and went down the creaky stairs of Fiyero's castle in Kiamo Ko. She walked into the kitchen and saw Fiyero at the table, eating grainy toast. She smiled. He motioned to a plate. "I made you some toast," he said. His cloth hands spread some butter onto the bread with a knife. He dropped the knife once, then picked it back up again. She looked down, knowing he was a little bit clumsy from being a scarecrow. It had been the best she could come up with, though. He noticed her blushing a bit, and smiled. "Really, Elphaba, I'm fine the way I am." She knew he was lying, but sat down next to him anyway. She watched the rain apprehensively. "Do you think they know?"

"Know what?" Fiyero asked, absent-mindedly.

"Do you think they know I'm not dead?" He shook his head, quickly. "No! No, of course not. Why would you think that?" She looked down. "No reason," she said. "I'm a little nervous about Glinda, I guess. I don't know what she'll do if she finds out I'm not really melted." Fiyero nodded, and exchanging a brief smile, returned to their breakfasts.

Glinda woke up in her lavish bedroom, early in the morning. She looked outside. It was raining. Remembering Elphaba, she swallowed, hard. She lay in bed for a moment, thinking of the day before, and how happily the citizens of Oz had responded to the news of Elphie's death. A maid came in then, Lillany. "Well, I'm glad to see you're up early," Lillany said to Glinda brightly, opening the shades to the window. "You have a lot to do today. There's a man made of _tin_ here to see you." Glinda furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't remember if she had seen a creature like that before, and decided she hadn't. "Well, have him wait downstairs for me. I'll be down soon."

Glinda got ready to greet her visitor, making sure she had some black in her outfit. She wanted to honor Elphie in some way, if she couldn't do it traditionally. Skipping the usual curling of her hair, she put it in a braid instead. She stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't like it, but left it alone. She went down the stairs to the parlor, where her visitor was waiting on a couch. Lillany hadn't been lying, Glinda decided. The tin man stood as she descended the stairs. She smiled merrily at him. "Hello!" she cried. She laughed, though her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't disappoint her follower, however. "Sit down, no need to stand for me!" He sat, and she sat in an armchair across from him. "Miss Glinda," the tin man started. "You may remember me from Shiz University. My name is Boq." Glinda put a finger to her chin and sat thoughtfully. Boq sighed. "Or perhaps Biq." Glinda gasped. "Biq?! Oh, I remember you! You took Nessa to the Ozdust Ballroom, didn't you?" Boq's jaw clenched. "Yes," he replied shortly. Glinda remembered Nessa's social status with the Munchkinlanders and tried to fix her blunder. "Oh yes, that dirty old witch. She got what she deserved, don't you think?" She giggled. Boq nodded bitterly. "Her and her wicked sister." Glinda's heart ached to hear him talk about Elphaba like that, but she smiled, to show she agreed. She was getting a little tired of this visit, and wished just to go into breakfast. "So why did you drop by, Boq?" Boq cleared his throat. "Well, I was sent with Dorothy to kill Elphaba by the wizard. As you well know, we went there, and the wizard gave us what he promised." Glinda nodded. "Go on."

"Well, I've decided I'd like a little more than what I got." Glinda sat back in her chair. "Yes?"

"I was given a heart. I'd like to be a man again. Myself. Boq." Glinda stared at him. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Reverse the spell Elphaba cast on me. I know you can, I know you can do sorcery." Glinda shook her head slowly. "But I don't know if I can do that…there isn't a spell for everything. Besides…being a tin man isn't so bad, is it?" Boq looked around, then leaned in towards Glinda, as if he had a secret. She also leaned closer. "I don't think Elphaba really died," he said in a hushed tone. Glinda's eyes widened. "I just have this feeling…and I also, while I know she's allergic to water, it just doesn't seem possible that she could _melt_." Glinda felt a hope rise in her. She motioned for the tin man to keep going. "If you could turn me back into a man, then I will search for Elphaba. I'll find her, and do the job right this time. Really kill her." Glinda swallowed, knowing she had to find an excuse to keep him from doing that. Stalling for time, she promised him she'd look in the book for any spell that could possibly reverse it. Boq smiled. "I knew I could count on you, Glinda," he said. "Together, we'll get the wicked old witch." Glinda nodded, heart pounding. "And Boq," she said, as she ushered him out the door. "Yes?" he asked her, turning around. "Don't tell anyone about your suspicions, all right? For now…I would rather them not know, if you don't mind." Boq nodded, eagerly. "Absolutely, Miss Glinda."


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks Whogirl, for the great review! I really appreciate it! And yes, I know, this chapter really sucks. But I wanted a companion for Fiyero and Elphaba and had to introduce them someway. I really don't want to call this Wicked the Sequel, so if if any of you can think of any title, any title at all, please please PLEASE tell me. Thanks so much!

"You're going to take too long, it's not a good day to go. When would you be back?" Elphaba asked, her hands on her hips.

"By dusk," Fiyero answered, putting a hatchet into his belt, preparing to go hunting the afternoon after their escape from Oz. "Elphaba, you're not going to stop me from going."

"I'm not trying to stop you. I just want you to wait until tomorrow, when the rain will stop. I'll go with you." Fiyero stood up from the table, grabbing the spear that was leaning against the wall. "No, we need food now. And don't worry! I grew up hunting. I used to bring home all the meat we got growing up." Fiyero walked the few steps over to where Elphaba stood. He brushed his hand against her cheek, and she turned her head against it. He sighed and put his hand down. "I'm leaving now," he said, walking to the door. She looked up at him. "Be back soon," she said finally. He smiled briefly at her and walked into the light rain that was falling, closing the door behind him. Elphaba walked to the door and kicked it, angry Fiyero was going without her because of her water allergy. She huffed and then realized she had a little time to herself. She wandered into the uncomfortable living room-Fiyero's family had never lived there, after all-and laid down on the couch. In nearly five minutes, she had fallen asleep, thinking about what might have been if she had stayed in Oz.

She was awoken by someone banging open the door. Groggily, she woke up, knowing it couldn't have been more than an hour after she had fallen asleep. Fiyero came in, not entirely graceful while carrying something human-sized in his arms. "Hi, Elphaba, I need the couch," he said, huffing and puffing. She quickly got off and backed away, not wanting him to get her wet. With a grunt, he heaved the thing onto the couch and backed away. She peered at it. It was human, and what looked like someone from the Uplands. Where Glinda was from. It was a boy, probably not any older than sixteen. "Why did you bring him home?" Elphaba asked him, panicked. Nobody could know they were alive. Fiyero sighed. "I had to," he said. "I mistook him for some sort of animal, he was in the bushes, and I shot him in the arm with an arrow. Don't look at me like that, what could I have done?! I couldn't have just left him there to bleed to death!" Elphaba walked over to the boy and stared at where Fiyero had hit him. He had taken the arrow out and it was bleeding still, but not as much as it probably had at first. "The cut isn't that deep," Elphaba said unconvincingly. Still, she had to admit that she would have done the same thing. The boy was unconscious, probably more from fright than pain. He was thin, but looked fairly strong. He had brown hair that was a little shaggy. She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. "You'll need to clean his cut," she said at last. Unseen behind her, Fiyero smiled. "All right," he said, heading in to get some water on a towel. "And get some material to wrap it, too," she called after him. She sat in a chair facing the couch while Fiyero cleaned his wound. As he was wrapping the material around his arm, the boy woke up. He opened his eyes, and seeing a scarecrow and a green person, jumped up, knocking Fiyero down. He put his fists in front of his face to the two of them. "You stay away from me!" he cried, bouncing on the balls of his heels. Elphaba stood up, staying where she was. Fiyero also got up, advancing towards the boy a little bit. The boy backed up, fists still up. "Okay, you don't understand, I brought you back here to help you."

"No! You're going to kill me! I've heard of you-" he said, twirling around to point at Elphaba, who stood silent, "you're the Wicked Witch of the West! Well, you can't kill me, my father's got the entire army out looking for me! You'll never get away with it if you keep me here!" Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged worried glances. "The entire army?" Fiyero asked, warily.

"Yes! And if you don't let me go, then they'll find you and really melt you this time, Witch! And I don't know who you are," he said, turning to Fiyero, "but if you're in cahoots with her, they'll get you too!" He backed up a few steps, looking behind him at the door. "So now, if you don't mind letting me go, I'll just be leaving." He turned around and almost got to the door. Fiyero came running behind him and jumped on his back, which made the boy fall down. The boy started to swing without any effect, and Elphaba ran to the door, guarding it. The boy, exhausted from his losing battle against something that could only be hurt by fire, gave up. Elphaba was angry that Fiyero had brought this kid home, and angry at herself that she let him stay. If this boy had the entire army out looking for him, surely they would find him eventually. And with finding him, they would find her and Fiyero, as he was with them. But then also, the boy was not to be trusted. He had seen her, he obviously didn't trust her, and if they let him go, he would tell everyone, for sure. "What's your name?" she asked him quietly, speaking to him for the first time. He eyed her. "Damaran," he said unfeelingly. "Who is your father, Damaran, and how is he so important that he has the entire army out looking for you?"

"My father is the Wizard himself. And he doesn't take kindly to you, believe me." Elphaba cackled. "Clearly you've been running around in the woods too long. The Wizard doesn't have, and never has had, a son." Damaran looked around, scraping up a story. "I meant my uncle is the Wizard. My father is his brother, so it would be very clear that he would be important." Fiyero had gotten off Damaran by now, but Damaran was still on the ground, looking up at the two. Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged amused glances. "So what's your real story?" Fiyero asked, smirking. Damaran began to take a breath to speak, then sighed, and began the truth. "I have no idea where my parents are, and I don't really care. My mother's an alcoholic that couldn't take care of me by herself, and I never knew my father. I left a couple months ago and traveled down here by train and by walking. I was planning on traveling all of Oz, and I don't think that you should interrupt my plans."

"How old are you, Damaran?"

"Fifteen and a half." He stood up, defiantly. "And you can't make me stay," he said, pleading with his eyes to them to make him stay. Elphaba nodded, putting the chain lock onto the door. "Yes, we can," Fiyero said apologetically. "And we're going to have to. No one can know that we're alive." Damaran looked a bit relieved, by now realizing they probably meant him no harm. "Well, I guess you're right," he said quickly. "So why aren't you dead, Witch? I heard you were melted." Elphaba shrugged, realizing this boy wasn't scared of her, for some reason. Something had happened between the time he had gotten there and then, and he seemed perfectly at ease, walking back to the couch and perching on an arm of it. His arm didn't seem to be bothering him, which Elphaba resented a little, realizing Fiyero could have left him there and he would have been fine. "I don't really think that it's any of your business why I'm not dead," she told him, assuming a haughty air. He leaned back. "Well, fine then. Don't let me take away any of your secrets." He looked at the scarecrow. "And who are you, anyway?"

"That's also none of your business," Fiyero said, moving to stand next to Elphaba at the door.

"So what have you got for food around here?"

"Nothing, thanks to you moving about in the bushes."

"Oh, I'm so sorry you hit me with your arrow," Damaran replied sarcastically. "I'm good at hunting. I can help get some food," he told them eagerly, changing his attitude in half a second. Elphaba was about to make a sarcastic remark to the young boy, but Fiyero threw him the spear that he had laid on the ground when he came in. Damaran caught it, and smiled. "Let's go, then!" Fiyero told him, happy to have a hunting partner. After all, the three of them were only ten years or so different in age. Damaran could become a friend, if he dropped his lies and false toughness. Elphaba's eyes widened. She pulled Fiyero off to the side. "Fiyero," she said, speaking in hushed tones, "we know nothing about this boy! He could pull you apart when you're not looking!" Fiyero looked at her seriously. "I think I'll take my chances. Clearly he has nowhere else to go to, and even if he did pull me apart, or run away, who's going to believe a homeless child who claims that two people so very clearly dead are still alive?" Elphaba rolled her eyes, once again angry they were going without her. "Fine! But don't come back with another runaway this time!" Fiyero grinned and hugged her. With childlike excitement, Fiyero and Damaran ran out the door to play hunt.

Glinda sat in her room, looking through the book Elphie had given her. Everything was written in a foreign tongue, and she couldn't read it. She squinted at the odd writing and threw the book down in frustration. "How am I supposed to learn! I don't even know what the markings _mean_!" She huffed, angry Elphie had left her with the funny book without even any tips on how to decode it. She sat back in her chair. Elphaba. It was funny, in a way…when she believed Elphie to be dead, she was sad she was gone, but now she was a little mad at her best friend. She hadn't even told her that she was still alive! She wouldn't have told anyone! But Biq, or Boq, or whatever it was had no proof that Elphie was still alive…he had a "feeling". Feelings were conniving and misleading. Feelings were not to be trusted. She put her head in her hands. She wasn't sure what to do…she knew she had to keep the tin man away from Elphie, but she wasn't sure how to do that. She had promised Elphie that she wouldn't try to clear her name…but that was when she was dead. If she attempted to clear her name now, maybe Elphie could come back to Oz, and the two of them could be friends, and rule Oz together! Glinda smiled, despite herself, getting excited. They both had their entire lives ahead of them, why should Elphie waste hers in hiding? Glinda nodded to herself. Perhaps…maybe she could figure out the Grimmerie, change Boq back into a man, and send him to find Elphie. But instead of killing her, he would bring her back to Oz, and then Glinda would set the record straight. They wouldn't turn on her, they _couldn't_ turn on her. She didn't care anyways. If Elphie was back, she'd be happy again. Maybe she could find them each boyfriends…Glinda grinned. She'd been lonely since Fiyero had left her for Elphie, but she doubted that would happen again. She squealed. That was a great plan, she decided. She set back to studying the book.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Whogirl: Thanks for the great reviews, and title suggestions! As I told you, I took Wicked Ways from your title suggestions. I really appreciate it! Jemima: LOL, I also love pretty much anything Elphaba/Fiyero also! Silver Moonset: You know, I actually considered making it Shell, but decided since I wanted it musicalverse, it wouldn't really fit. He's about the same age as Shell would be, though, and from the book, it sounds like he would act like Damaran would. So Damaran is kind of based on Shell, in a way.

Predictions: Anyone have any idea how Glinda's going to redeem Elphaba? Okay, fine, it's not you making a prediction, I need help with the plot. Please? pleading eyes

"Fah…lay…ro…fah…lay…la…fah lay ro fah lay la…fah lay ro fah lay la…Eee! Yea! I got it!" Glinda screeched. It had been nearly fourty-eight hours since she had decided on her plan to get Elphie back into the good graces of Oz, and she had studied the Grimmerie endlessly. She smiled, not being able to help herself. She could now turn Boq into a man. The spell was to turn anything into a human. She couldn't guarantee he would look the same, but it seemed likely. She squealed again. She felt a little nervous, not sure if she should do it. She nodded to herself though, knowing Elphie shouldn't live her life in hiding. She looked out the window, looking at the wide expanse of the Emerald City. It had become official that she was the new leader of Oz, and she was no living in his palace in the heart of the city, where she and Elphie had come, and started Elphie's life of being a fugitive. Glinda sighed, then smiled again. She knew Elphie would be so grateful to her. Glinda rang for Lillany. Lillany rushed in only moments later. "Yes, Miss Glinda?"

"Tell Master Boq of Munchkinland I'm ready for him."

"Yes, ma'am," Lillany bowed, and ran out of the room. Boq had been given a room in the palace, being widely respected for being one of those who had "killed" Elphaba. Glinda had thought about it over the past two days, and decided that Elphie was probably alive. And if she wasn't, she was going to believe that-at least until they found no evidence of her being alive, anywhere. It made her happy. Minutes later, there was a knock on her door. She got up, slowed down by the huge skirt on her fluffy dress. She walked to the door and opened it up. The tin man stood there, smiling eagerly. She noticed he was wearing clothes, probably made for him with special care by her maids. "Did you find a spell?" Glinda took a deep breath, then nodded. The tin man stepped into the room and stood awkwardly. Glinda stared at him a moment, then remembered the book. "Okay, come stand here," she told him, a little nervous. She had never put a spell on a person before. And she had never used the book for spells. Boq moved in front of the table, and she sat down, then stood up, looking at the book. She wondered if she needed her wand. She got up and grabbed it from her closet, and stood behind the table, with Boq and the Grimmerie in front of her. She looked down at the book and started to chant. "Fah lay ro fah lay la fah lay ro fah lay la fah lay ro fah lay la fah lay ro fah lay la fah lay ro fah lay la…" Glinda continued to chant over and over, still waiting for Boq to turn into a human. She threw her wand down, and started over. "Fah lay ro fah lay la fah lay ro fah lay la…" that was all she had to say. She trailed off as a puff of smoke went around the tin man, and when the smoke was gone, he was a man again. It was not Boq-well, it was Boq, but he looked completely different. He had blonde hair, was a sight handsome than he had been, and was a few inches taller than before. His clothes, which had fit the tin man, were now much too big for him. He grinned, and Glinda squealed. "I did it!" she shouted. "I did a spell from the Grimmerie!" Both grinning like maniacs, she went for a handheld mirror, and handed it to him. His smile grew wider as he stared at himself. "I look better than I did!" he exclaimed. She watched him proudly. He sighed with happiness, then put the mirror down. He looked at her seriously. "Now, if you wouldn't mind us talking business," he said. She nodded. "I have decided to supply you with ten members of the Gale Force. You may search anywhere, and any house you feel necessary. But I want only Elphie," she caught herself, "_Elphaba_; those who hide her are not to be brought back. She probably forced them to, and I don't want them punished." Glinda had thought over the rules of the search many times, and thought all that appropriate. She didn't think any Munchkins who were kind enough to hide Elphie should be punished-she didn't care about them anyway. It was Elphie she wanted to see again. Boq nodded, agreeing with whatever she said. "And when may we leave?"

"Whenever you'd like. But by next week, if possible."

"I can be ready by tonight."

Glinda was a little bit surprised, but didn't mind. Boq was extremely eager to get Elphie. She nodded, and dismissed him. Then remembered-"Oh, Boq?"

"Yes, Miss Glinda?"

"Elphaba's not to be killed. She is to be brought back _alive_. And make sure that the rest of the Gale Force understands that completely; you're in charge of the mission." Boq looked a tad disappointed, which frightened Glinda a little bit, but he nodded. Again, she dismissed him, and he left, set to gathering his army. Once he had closed the door, she walked to the Grimmerie and closed it. Then she walked over to the bed and hopped on, falling back and smiling. She was going to have a best friend again, and they could both read the Grimmerie. They were going to rule Oz together, until they had children with their husbands-to-be…well, after all, Elphaba couldn't still be brooding over the death of Fiyero, right? Glinda had gotten over him-mostly. She was still a tiny bit upset that he had chosen Elphie over her, but forgive and forget, right? She sat up and looked out the window. She remembered their promise, that they would both come back someday, and even though Elphie would be coming back a fugitive, she would be recognized, finally, as a good person, and she wouldn't have to hide any longer. Glinda smiled again. She was such a good friend.

"So how come you're not, like, turning me into a toad or whatever?" Elphaba looked at Damaran sideways. He was munching on an apple, days after he had gone hunting with Fiyero. Surprisingly, Damaran had been telling the truth about being a good hunter-Fiyero and he had returned home with a large pig, shot square in the heart by Damaran. Elphaba raised her eyebrows. "I don't know, would you like me to turn you into a toad?" Damaran shrugged and sat cross-legged on the couch, opposite of her on the other end. "I've never been a toad, I wouldn't know. But anyway, that's not what I'm asking. Why aren't you?"

"Contrary to what I'm sure you've heard over and over repeatedly, I don't turn people into toads every chance I get. Besides, I don't have the Grimmerie-my spell book-with me, so you'd have to make me really angry to get turned into a toad."

"I thought you said you couldn't."

"I can, I just can't…willingly."

"Then what's the fun of being a witch?"

"There isn't."

"What?"

"There isn't any fun," she replied, getting tired of the conversation. "So why are you?" he asked, probably knowing he was annoying her.

"Why am I what?"

"Why are you a witch?"

"I don't know. Why aren't you?"

"Because…I'm a boy."

"Fair enough, why don't you have magical powers?"

"I don't know."

Elphaba sat back, pleased she had finally silenced him.

"So how come you're green?"

"I don't know! Be quiet for a _moment_, please!" She got off the couch in a huff and went to lament her troubles with the boy to Fiyero. Fiyero was in their bedroom, the one the two of them shared. Damaran slept wherever he wanted to-he didn't seem to need routine. Fiyero didn't seem to be doing anything, just laying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Elphaba walked in the door and slammed it. He looked up, startled. "You know, I seriously think we should take our chances on him telling the world about us and put him out into the streets," she told him, shaking her finger at him. Fiyero sat up, slightly amused. "Because you know, that boy has been nothing but talk, talk, talk, talk, _talk_ for the past two days, and frankly, I am sick of him! 'Why are you green? Why aren't I a toad? Why do you have magic powers?' Ugh, I hate him!"

"I understand, Elphie, but-"

"And he won't stop! I can't get a word in edgewise with him!"

"I realize that, but-"

"And he eats more than both of us combined! I don't know _how_ he stays that skinny, he's got to eat his weight in food every day!"

"Elphaba!"

Elphaba looked at him, surprised. "What?"

"You don't let anyone get a word in edgewise, either." Elphaba felt a little guilty, realizing it was true. "Yes, but-"

"And not only does he eat more than the two of us combined, he brings more food home than the two of us combined."

Elphaba paused, not thinking of a comeback to that one. "So?" Fiyero got off the bed and crossed to her. "You know we would have gotten bored with just each other," he told her, half-smiling. She pursed her lips together, and sighed huge. "Fine," she told him. "He can stay." She flung open the door and went down the stairs dramatically, her cape flipping behind her. Fiyero smiled, knowing kicking the boy out was never an option. He, personally, did not have a problem with Damaran. He reminded him a little bit of Glinda-and while he didn't love Glinda, not like Elphaba, he missed her. She would have been nice to have as a friend. He knew Elphaba missed Glinda like crazy, but never would admit it. He remembered Elphaba and Glinda didn't like each other much, anyway, in the beginning. A lot like Elphaba and Damaran didn't like each other now. He laughed quietly to himself.

Elphaba went down the stairs and paused in front of Damaran. Damaran, still eating his apple, looked at her from the couch. They stared at each other silently, until Damaran asked, "So how come the Scarecrow can talk?" They still hadn't told Damaran his real name, just in case one of them needed to get away. Elphaba had insisted that he, at least, be safe from Damaran, if Damaran should decide to tell. Elphaba looked down, then up at Damaran. "Because of me," she said quietly.

"So you did something nice for someone?"

"No."

"Well, you made him living. That's good," he said, apologizing by being nice. Elphaba forgave him. "No. I didn't make him living," she told him.

"The Scarecrow was already living?"

"Yes."

"But you said he could talk because of you."

"Well, yes. I guess so…but he could talk before…the incident." Damaran's eyes widened, excited that he was getting something out of the witch. "What incident?"

Elphaba caught herself. "That's none of your business! I'm sure you know more about my life than I do, just like everyone else in Oz, anyway!" Damaran sat back. "Are you ashamed of it?"

"Like I said, it's none of your business."

"I think it would be easier to tell me than to argue about it like we are now."

"I don't care."

"Fine."

"Good."

Damaran paused. "I don't like that he's a scarecrow. He can't do anything." Elphaba looked at him, haughtily. "And what, pray tell, can't he do?"

"He's clumsy. He's a bad hunter." Damaran kept pushing buttons, hoping to finally find the one that would make Elphaba mad enough to turn him into a man. He had a slight idea that she had turned him into a scarecrow from a man, and figured if she got mad enough, he would finally be human again. He lowered his voice. "And scarecrows are the worst things ever," Damaran told her, looking around confidentially. He noticed Fiyero coming down the stairs and kept talking. "They don't work, and they're ugly." He was pulling things out of a hat now, making things up as he went along. He noticed Elphaba blushing a little bit, which made her green cheeks turn a weird purplish color. He pressed on. "And he's so useless. If someone ever attacked him, he would be dead in an instant." He noticed her get an odd look in her eyes, and she screamed, "You're right!" to Damaran. She turned towards Fiyero, who was pressed against the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut, a million thoughts racing through her head. She breathed deep, heart pounding. When she opened her eyes, a puff of smoke went around Fiyero. When the puff was gone, a man stood in his place. It was him again! She gasped, happily, and Damaran's eyes grew wide. Fiyero looked down at himself in shock of what had just happened, what Elphaba had just accomplished. He admired himself, and Elphaba ran to him, clutching him tightly. She drew him back and looked at him oddly. "Funny, your hair was blonde, and now it's brown…" she said, wondering how that had happened. Fiyero laughed. "Ah, well, I used to dye my hair. You must have gotten my natural color." Elphaba smiled, unable to stop. She hugged him again. Damaran stood up. "So you must be Fiyero," he said, knowing. They looked at him. "How did you know?" Fiyero asked quizzically. "I've seen the newspaper," he told them. "I thought you were dead, though."

"They think we're both dead," she told him. "Which is good. It's better this way."

"Don't you want to…be accepted…and live normal lives?"

"Yes." She told him simply. Then a smile grew as she looked back at Fiyero. She laughed, and hugged him once again.

A/N: Okay, some explanations: Ignore the setup that turned Fiyero back into a human. That was really stupid. I just didn't like him as a scarecrow, and wanted him to be human again, and had to think of something. And the reason Boq didn't look like himself, and Fiyero did, was because Elphaba just has powers that are more powerful than Glinda's. Glinda used the book, which was just a spell to make something human. Elphaba turned Fiyero back into a man with her own mind. Hope that makes sense! Read and review, all!


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: Silvermoonset: No…you didn't like the Fiyero set up? I thought it was great! LOL just kidding I know it sucked. I never liked him as a scarecrow either, I had to get him changed. It was bothering me. Whogirl: I'd love to help you out with the c2 thing! I don't really know how, though. I looked at it and didn't really see how to become the staff member. Just drop me a note! And thank you sooo much for the suggestions with the plot! I'll probably use one…but ignore that…because now you know what's coming...

Boq sat high atop his horse, pleased that he was the leader. Many Gale Force members were willing to help catch the Wicked Witch of the West, so Boq had no problem assembling his army of ten. He knew Fiyero came from Kiamo Ko, and thought maybe Elphaba had found refuge with his family. He planned on heading there first, as it seemed the most likely place for her to hide. He felt a bit nervous that he wouldn't find Elphaba…with so many Gale Force members knowing, the rumor of his mission was bound to spread through Oz and he knew if he came back empty-handed he would be ridiculed for wasting everyone's time. They had set off nearly a week ago, andalmost were in Kiamo Ko. They camped each night in small white tents, none of them complaining. That afternoon, with each one of them on top of a horse, Boq thought a lot of Glinda, and Elphaba, and Nessarose. He had felt bad when Nessarose had died…but only a little. She had enslaved him and the rest of the Munchkins, and it was she and Elphaba who made him lose Glinda. Glinda was alone, now, but he was certain she didn't love him. She could find anybody, and even though, he admit, he looked much better than he had, he still didn't think that she could ever love him. He wasn't sure why Glinda wouldn't let him kill Elphaba on the spot, but he didn't mind…too much. More than anything, he hoped she was somewhere in that city. She had made him tin, and made him lose Glinda. He thought there had been a chance of him getting Glinda, if he hadn't been tin. It was too late now, he knew. Now that she was in charge of Oz. Behind him, the soldiers were murmuring excitedly, seeing Kiamo Ko in the distance. Boq smiled to himself, thinking, _knowing_ he was closer to Elphaba. He set his horse to a trot, with the others following suit, and pressed on.

Damaran sighed. He opened his mouth and closed it. He looked up, leaning his head back, and sighed again. Fiyero, amused and sitting next to him, again, on the couch, asked, "Having fun, are we?"

"I'm bored."

"Find something to do. There are a lot of rooms in this place that probably no one's been in for years."

Damaran shook his head. "Nah."

"Fine, be bored, I don't care."

"Is this what we're going to do the rest of our lives?"

"Elphaba and I, most likely. You, however, I'm sure will get bored, as you have already, and move on."

Damaran raised his eyebrows and sighed again. He still wasn't used to calling her Elphaba. Fiyero had to stop him from saying the Wicked Witch of the West a lot. She was upstairs, taking a nap. Damaran, still curious about his unanswered question, turned to Fiyero. "Why is she green?"

"I don't know."

Damaran pursed his lips and sighed once more.

"You need to stop sighing." Fiyero saw how Elphaba could get tired of him.

"I'm bored!"

"I don't really care!" Fiyero changed the subject. "So you're from the Uplands, aren't you?"

"Yes. Where Glinda the Good is from."

Fiyero smirked at the commonly known name. "Are you an only child?"

"No," Damaran said quietly. Fiyero was slightly surprised. When telling them about his parents, Damaran had never mentioned any siblings. Fiyero was as bored as Damaran, hehad only been asking to pass time. "How many are there?"

"Two others…my little brother's seven, and my older sister's twenty." Fiyero cocked his head, suspicious. "Where's your sister?"

"I don't know."

"Why isn't she taking care of you? She knows about your alcoholic mother, right?"

"Yes."

"And does she know where your father is?"

"No. We don't have the same father, anyway."

"So…what does she do?"

"I don't know. She dreamed of having a family in the Emerald City, but we all know how well dreams pan out." Fiyero did know, but didn't say anything about it. "When did she leave?"

"Two years ago. She was sick of my mother. She told me to come to the Emerald City when I was old enough and she'd help me."

"Are you and her ever going back for your little brother?"

"My little brother has a different dad than either of us, and so he lives with his dad. He does fine there." Damaran looked a little sad talking about his siblings, different than when he talked about his mother. His mother only seemed to make his face grow red with fury, but when he talked about his brother and sister he looked like he missed them a lot. Fiyero looked down, feeling a little bad that he had brought it up. But he decided that somehow he and Elphaba would help him find his sister. He didn't really see the point in keeping Damaran there, anyway. Fiyero honestly believed that if they told him to keep their lives a secret, he would. He could stay if he wanted, he supposed, but he didn't really see how anyone would want a life of what they were looking forward to. "Sorry," Fiyero told him sincerely. Damaran looked away. "It's all right." Then he sighed, and said, "I'm bored."

A/N: Aren't you proud of me? It's been all Elphaba and Glinda, and I kept them out of this chapter completely. Be very proud. So proud, in fact, that you feel the need to review.


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: I logged in just to write this author's note, and my jaw dropped seeing that I was on TWO people's favorites list and FOUR people's author alerts!!! Yay! Thanks so much for putting me on there! I'm very giddy right now. : ) Sorry it's taken me so long…I had to go back to school this week. I'm not very happy with this chapter, but it'll have to do. And a big round of applause to all my new reviewers! It was so much fun getting a bunch of reviews last chapter!! Whogirl: It's no problem, of course, helping you out…though I admit I'm not really doing anything. I added two stories to the c2 community…is that what I'm supposed to be doing? You're always so sweet, by the way, when you review! Thanks so much!Silvermoonset: You crack me up with every review! You're very amusing…though I get amused by the oddest things…yes, quoting you. : ) Ibelieveinmiracles and Jemima: Thanks so much for reviewing! Charles Quittner: You are awesome! Aida's a very good show, by the way! got it from your bio Sawyerzelda: Yay, I'm your inspiration! grins Thanks for reviewing! Idinakristinfan: Yes, I am quite proud of you, don't worry. LOL yeah I put some romance in for you…but it's not very good…I'm not a very good romance writer which is why this isn't romance. I'll try, though! Bella Luna 1213: Yay! Thank you for reviewing! Fiyero and Elphaba are my favorites too. By the way, you all, I put a character from the book in here, but I think she's in the musical, too. But you won't be lost if you haven't read the book, don't worry! And I made up a last name, because I don't remember one ever being mentioned.

Glinda stood in front of her mirror, examining her hair from every angle. She scrunched her nose. "Maybe another curl…" she turned again. "Here," she said decisively, pointing to a loose piece of hair. Her maid curled that piece of hair, slightly amused at Glinda's perfection. Society wouldn't leave Glinda alone. Not, of course, that she minded. She was at the center of attention-exactly where she belonged. She was going to a party hosted by an old college friend. Pfanee Balier had never been a _good_ friend, not like Elphaba, but she was high in society-her father governed Munchkinland. He had been elected not a week after Nessarose's death. She felt it her duty to attend.

After she had sufficiently styled herself, she arrived at the party. She descended the steps and wandered, smiling and greeting the crowd there. The short Munchkin Pfanee spotted her and ran to her. "Glinda!" she said sweetly, taking her hand and shaking it. "How are you? I haven't seen you since Shiz!" Glinda smiled, genuinely glad to see her. Pfanee was never very nice, but she was a lot of fun to be around. "I'm great! I've missed you!"

"Oh, I've missed you too! Let's go sit down so we can talk." Glinda and Pfanee slowly moved their way to two chairs on the side. Glinda smoothed her blue, frilly dress as she sat down. 'It really is a beautiful dress,' she thought, smiling to herself a little. "So have you been in touch with anyone from Shiz lately?" Pfanee asked her eagerly. Glinda nodded. "Well, Boq-you remember him…he was dating Nessarose Thropp for awhile-" Pfanee burst out laughing, startling Glinda. "The Thropp sisters! Sweet Oz, I remember them! Well, how could you forget, they may have been the two most famous-well, make that infamous-people ever to go through Shiz! Besides you, of course," she added hurriedly. She then returned to what she was saying, smiling. "Nessarose…ha, I never could believe a _house_ got dropped on her! And Elphaba, wasn't she a gem! She was _so_ annoying, I couldn't _believe_ she always wore that ugly hat you gave her. And she actually _melted_!" At this, Pfanee threw her head back, unable to control her laughter. Glinda felt extremely uncomfortable, but forced a tiny smile. She didn't care who they were, or what they had done. They were her friends, and she didn't find anything about it-true or not-funny at all. She cleared her throat, and Pfanee managed to contain her giggles, still smiling. "I really must be going," Glinda told her. She stood up. Pfanee followed her. "No, but you just got here!" she complained. Glinda smiled sadly. "Yes, but I have much to do. Being Oz's ruler isn't very easy, you know." She started to walk towards the steps, waving her hand behind her as a good-bye. She felt a hand grab her arm, and she was about to turn around to yell at Pfanee, but when she did, she saw a very handsome man behind her. Her face dropped its mean expression. "Hello," she said, surprised. The man smiled. "Hello…I know you're Glinda the Good Witch of the North, and I'm sure you must get offers to dance a lot, but would you like to?" Before her mind had a chance to comprehend, her mouth said "No thank you, I really must be going." She frowned at herself, but kept her mouth shut. He looked a little embarrassed. "All right, it's fine, it was worth a shot." She smiled and nodded and went home.

It had been raining in Kiamo Ko since Elphaba and Fiyero had left Oz, letting up for only a day at a time a couple of times. Elphaba and Fiyero lay side by side on their bed, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you think we'll ever want children?" Fiyero asked her, quietly. Elphaba shook her head. "No," she responded sadly. "They wouldn't be able to have a childhood, and certainly they'd move far away from this terrible life when they were adults. No." Fiyero could tell she had thought of that before.

"Do you think we'll live here, alone, for the rest of our lives?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yes."

"Do you want to?"

"No," he answered truthfully. She turned on her side facing him, and he did the same. "Thank you," she whispered.

"What for?"

"What happened in Munchkinland after Nessa's death," she answered, still whispering. That incident was never brought up between the two of them. Fiyero knew she had felt terrible about him being a scarecrow, and Elphaba knew he felt terrible about being a scarecrow. But now that he was human again, it seemed okay to talk about it. He smiled. "Well, I love you," he told her. He kissed her softly, and she closed her eyes and kissed him back. They heard a loud knock on their door. "I made you people breakfast!" A voice from the hallway yelled. They then heard footsteps walking down the hall away from the door. The two of them cracked up, the mood ruined. They threw the threadbare blanket off of them and walked downstairs.

Damaran was sitting at the table shoving ham and eggs into his mouth. They weren't sure if they were from a chicken or not, but they were very good. They each pulled up a chair to the sloppy plates Damaran had prepared and began eating. Damaran sat back, done with his meal and watched.

"So how come everyone hates you?" Elphaba threw down her fork and sat back. But instead of yelling at him like she usually did, she just studied him. Fiyero froze, looking from one to the other. "A misunderstanding." She answered. Her voice took on an unfeeling quality as she related the story of going to Shiz, and the Ozdust Ballroom, meeting the Wizard and being on the run for so long. She told him about getting captured by the Gale Force, and changing Fiyero into a scarecrow, and everything. Fiyero didn't talk during any of it, and Damaran stared at her, wide-eyed through it all, silently listening. "And now I'm here," she finished with a sigh. Damaran looked down, processing it all. After a pause, he asked, "So you can't dance?" Elphaba and Fiyero laughed hard at that, shoulders shaking. Elphaba managed to shake her head no, though. Damaran smiled, also, but serious when he said, "I could teach you." Elphaba still smiling, shook her head. "Dancing, I'm afraid, is something I've never had a use for, and it looks like I will never have a use for it ever."

"Are you doing something better today?"

"No. But I'm not doing anything worse." Fiyero laughed and pushed her up. "Come on, Elphaba, it'll be fun." Still protesting, she managed to let them walk her into a corner of the house downstairs where there wasn't any furniture, and Damaran managed to teach her to dance.

A few hours later, they fell on the floor, laughing. They had spent the first good morning they had spent together since Damaran had gotten there. Elphaba sighed with contentment and looked at the ceiling. "Well, who wants to go for a walk?" she asked. Damaran nodded and sprang to his feet. "I'll get my arrows!" he exclaimed and rushed from the room to claim them. Elphaba jumped up and lent a hand to Fiyero, who took it and stood up. "That was fun," Elphaba admitted to Fiyero. He smiled. "You were in pleasurable company," he told her, shrugging his shoulders. She laughed and pushed him, and the two of them made to go for a walk in the woods with their friend.

They came home, unsuccessful in their hunt, but still laughing. Damaran had managed to get chased by an angry boar after it had narrowly being missed with an arrow, and though it had frightened them all at the time, it was funny afterwards. She was glad that Damaran had finally turned into a friend…she needed one.

As they started to fall asleep in the corner downstairs, Fiyero and Elphaba finally learning where Damaran usually slept, they were unaware of who had been watching the house during their happy day, and of the three Gale Force members, Boq in the lead, quietly breaking into the castle.


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: Warning! Severe feeling sorry for Elphaba follows! I want you all to tell me if I'm taking it too far…not like, you-don't-like-it-because-you-want-Elphaba-to-have-a-great-life too far, but that-was-just-stupid too far…I'll replace this chapter if I get a lot of reviews like that, I'm a little nervous about how you're going to like it from now on…

Elphaba felt a sharp sting to the face, and she jolted up, rubbing the water droplets off of her nose. She shook her head, still slightly feeling the sting from the water and looked up. Three men in Gale Force uniforms and one with a captain's coat stood over her, one of the ordinary soldiers holding a bucket of water. Her eyes widened, and before she had time to react, the man with the captain's coat nodded, and the two soldiers not holding the water each grabbed her soldiers and hoisted her off of her feet, standing. Her heart was pounding as she looked to her right and left at the soldiers, wondering if she could try to escape. Her eyes caught sight of the bucket, and saw the captain holding a large gun, what she hadn't seen before. It was still fairly dark outside. She looked over and saw Fiyero and Damaran, still sleeping across the room. She looked down in shame as the captain strode over to Fiyero and Damaran and poked each of them with the gun, waking them up. The soldiers' grips on her arm were very firm, and she could tell they were nervous. She could hear a gasp, from Damaran, and of them scurrying up. She didn't look up, but could hear one of them-probably Fiyero-start to advance towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the captain point the gun at them and stop them. "If either one of you takes a step forward or says one word, we don't have to be very kind to her." She shivered, feeling defeated. She didn't want to look at Fiyero and Damaran, she didn't know what they planned to do to her, or to them, or how the soldiers had known where she was. She also didn't know if they would recognize Fiyero or not. He looked different with brown hair, but not that different. She knew that he'd be taken, for certain, if they recognized him. Her heart was pounding, and she was certain they could all hear it. The captain strode in front of her. "This witch," he said, not talking to Elphaba, but to her companions, "tried to outsmart the Gale Force. But we all know, now, that she's alive. Glinda the Good has ordered us to find her, and bring her back to her, as we shall do." Elphaba narrowed her eyes. Glinda…but they had made up! She shivered again, this time out of rage at Glinda. She had known all she had wanted was to be popular with the citizens of Oz, but she didn't know she wanted it at the extent of her capture, and most likely, death!

"You're a monster," Fiyero said quietly, right to the captain. Elphaba looked up for a small moment, hearing his voice. She didn't see the captain nod to the soldier with the bucket, and he sloshed nearly half of the water onto Elphaba. The pain that she felt on her skin was unbearable, and she gasped, falling to the floor, the soldiers letting go of her. She fell unconscious from the amount of pain that she felt. Fiyero's eyes widened, not knowing what he had done, and he tried to take a step forward. Damaran was also shocked, but he put a hand on Fiyero's arm, stopping him from going to her. The soldiers stared straight ahead, unfeeling, uncaring. The captain glanced down at her, then looked back at them. "We'll leave with her when the rain stops. The two of you will not be coming with us, and will have guards stationed around the castle at all hours of the day, and tonight we'll be outside guarding the entrances." He turned swiftly on his heel, and went up the stairs and out of the house, the other guards following, stepping over Elphaba.

As soon as they heard the slam of the castle door upstairs, the two of them raced to Elphaba. She was soaking wet, shivering in her unconsciousness. "Get me any rags you can find," he ordered Damaran. Damaran looked scared to death, but he ran from the room in search of any cloth material. Fiyero bit his lip, carefully lifting the upper half of her body to cradle in his arms. He kept himself from crying, not wanting more water to drip onto Elphaba. He started to wipe the wet off her face with his sleeve, as Damaran raced downstairs carrying two blankets in his arms. They gently dried her off, and wrapped her in the unused blanket to sleep. They sat next to her, quietly, not knowing what to do. The rain, so dreaded to Elphaba, was a comfort to them, pounding on the roof. As long as it kept raining, she wouldn't have to leave them. Damaran pulled his knees under his chin, and sat forlornly. He sighed, making the first attempt to speak since they had left. "Is she going to die?" he asked Fiyero. Fiyero shook his head. "No," he answered. "I don't think that was enough water."

"Could she die from water?"

"Probably."

Damaran, shocked by this news, sat silently again.

Hours later, Elphaba stirred. She drew in a jagged breath. "Fiyero," she murmured, not opening her eyes. They both looked down at her, and drew sighs of relief. "Yes?" he asked her, trying to sound calm. She opened her eyes and sat up, burying her face into his shoulder. He put his arms around her, and Damaran looked away, feeling rude he was witnessing this display of weakness. She didn't cry, but just sat, somehow knowing without anybody telling her that they wouldn't be together for long. Fiyero stroked her beautiful hair, closing his eyes. Elphaba took her face from his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked him softly.

"They're taking you away once the rain stops, and Fiyero and I can't leave the house. We're not coming," Damaran told her, not having been asked. She looked at Damaran. "I'm sorry," she told him.

"No, it's okay, I didn't want to come." Elphaba smirked, knowing he was trying to lighten the mood, and wishing he could. "I'm sorry we made you stay," she told him sincerely. Damaran shrugged it off. "You couldn't have made me leave," he told her. She looked down at her hands, and nothing was said for awhile. The three sat silently, listening to the comforting sound of the rain. It gradually started to lessen, and the day grew brighter. They could hear the loud soldiers outside, laughing and shouting, whistling and swearing. She still felt a sting from the water the night before, but didn't tell them. She knew it would only make them more nervous. She wondered what would happen when she got to Oz. Remembering Glinda, she closed her eyes. She felt a strong hatred for her at that moment, knowing the pain she had received and was still feeling was because of her. She fished for Fiyero's hand and held it, still not saying anything. Fiyero bit his lip, knowing he couldn't do anything to help her. They all looked up in fear, hearing the rain stop completely. Elphaba swallowed and looked back down. Her breath started to come a little quicker, and she turned to Fiyero and held him fast. He held her back, feeling as though nothing could come between the two of them. Damaran stood up, wanting almost to stand in front of them so nothing could get them, but knowing he couldn't. He looked up the stairs, as he heard the door opening, not a minute after the rain had stopped. Four pairs of boots stomping across the floor came downstairs. Elphaba and Fiyero finally let go, and they stood up, and the three of them stood watching as they came downstairs. She stood tall, forcing herself not to tremble, knowing she would get herself killed in the process of attacking them if not for knowing that they would kill Fiyero and Damaran if she herself tried to escape. The four guards formed a line in front of their prisoners, and one soldier strode forward with a length of rope. Elphaba didn't take her eyes off the rope as he came right towards her, taking her arms violently and binding them together. She was slightly shocked at being so helpless, and stood staring at her arms. There was still nearly four feet of rope left after tying her arms, and the soldier took that rope and jerked her forward, and she stumbled, landing on her feet, not sure if she had ever been so humiliated in her life. She closed her eyes briefly, and looked the captain square in the face, having been pulled forward not a foot in front of him. He looked a bit uncomfortable and he turned around. Not one of the soldiers had said a word, and he motioned with his arm for the rest of the guards to follow with Elphaba. The soldiers not holding the rope went first, and as the guard holding Elphaba's rope started to walk forward, she glanced behind her, desperately. She caught Fiyero's eye for a second that seemed to last a lifetime. The look on her face broke his heart, and he reached his hand toward her, such a small gesture that nobody noticed, but she was once again jerked forward as the soldier started to walk. She tore her eyes away from him and started up the stairs, not looking back.

Fiyero and Damaran watched as she walked out of sight, and when they heard the door shut behind her, Fiyero sank down, sobbing, and Damaran tried to comfort him, not succeeding, knowing that Elphaba was right outside the castle door, but not being able to go to her.

A/N: Okay, too cheesy? Too angst-y? Give me feedback!! Review, review, review!!


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Well, it definitely puts me at ease that you all liked my last chapter. Well, yes, I know you didn't like what happened…you know what I mean. I'm not very happy with the writing of this chapter…I don't know why. And yes, I know, the look at Glinda's life is extremely short this chapter, and Glinda wasn't even in the last chapter, but Elphaba's life, though sad, is much more interesting right now. Sorry! Sawyerzelda: I've been extremely confused when it comes to paragraphs! If you'll look at chapters, like, two through five, I just kind of made up where there should be a new paragraph…the last one I didn't even try, I just decided to clump. I'm going to just start randomly putting new paragraphs in, if anybody sees a mistake, please tell me, Word doesn't catch it or anything, so I definitely need help. Pinksprinkles121: Yes, you're completely right; they would have fought back ten times more. I don't have an excuse other than I didn't really think of it, but they'll fight back later ; ). Countrybutterfly0102: Would you like a summary of the show? I'd gladly post one, no problem at all. This is awfully confusing if you don't know what happens in the show. But if you don't want to know what happens that's fine too.

Glinda's maid Lillany knocked three times on Glinda's bedroom, where she had been spending most of her time since she had become the ruler of Oz. She was always doing something-being Glinda, the Good Witch of the North was an awfully difficult title to live up to, and she needed to make sure that Oz didn't turn into a terrible place. Lillany heard a perky "Come in!"and opened the door. Glinda lay on her bed, books spread out in front of her. "Miss Glinda, you have a post." she told her.

Glinda sighed. "Yes, yes, well, I've been getting many of them lately, is it important?"

"I…didn't read it." Lillany told her, timidly. Glinda laughed and hopped off the bed. "Of course not!" She exclaimed. She grinned, never before realizing how much she must intimidate people. "Bring it to me, if you will." Lillany scurried from the room to get the letter for Glinda. Glinda sighed. "Drat," she muttered. She did love being a public figure, but she wasn't sure if she loved being so _powerful_. She nodded to herself. That was why she and Elphie would make such a wonderful team. Elphie was smart like that, and while she, of course, had common sense, she knew it was because she was popular that she was the leader. Lillany rushed in with Glinda's letter, handed it to her, and, after bowing slightly, ran from the room. Glinda shook her head. It was such a shame that she scared people like that.

Glinda tore open the letter and pulled out a sheet of parchment. She read it to herself a couple times. The letter was written in secrecy, from an anonymous group of people, all wanting to know what she planned to do on the animal laws. That issue she had no idea what to do on. She knew exactly what Elphie would do. Elphie would have freed the animals and taught them to talk the minute she became ruler…but Glinda had her status to worry about. Many citizens of Oz liked it better without the animals. She knew the right thing to do would be to free the animals. She didn't, however, know what she was going to do. She flopped down on the bed, letting the letter drift out of her hands. "Oh, Boq," she muttered. "Bring Elphie back quickly!"

Elphaba, led by the Gale Force guards, and hands bonded in front of her, walked out of the front entrance to the castle. The guard holding the rope set it down after an okay from his captain. Years of being humiliated of her color had taught her to keep her chin up when people stared or laughed, which she did then. The rest of the guards had been talking loudly, and when the five of them walked out, they started staring and laughing to each other about the Witch of the West, hands tied and completely alone. She breathed deep, not wanting them to see her discomfort, and chose one of the guards and looked him straight in the eye. He stopped laughing, as did the rest of them, as she surveyed them silently, back straight and head high. She felt a shove from behind as she broke eye contact and stepped forward, regaining her balance.

"Keep your eyes down," the captain commanded her. She turned, angry, and stared at him defiantly. The captain, not expecting this, got within a few inches of her face and spoke to her quietly, meanly.

"You don't seem to understand. We're in charge, Elphaba." _Elphaba._ The word she hadn't heard uttered from anyone besidesthose closest to herin years the captain had just spoken. She wasn't sure why, but somehow she knew that this was someone she knew. The captain continued. "If you disobey us, you-or the two we've left behind-will be punished. If you escape, we'll turn straight around and kill whoever is in that building."

They kept staring into each other's eyes, their noses inches apart. A million thoughts raced through her head as she struggled to keep the stubborn expression on her face. Her life she didn't care about-or she told herself she didn't-, she was certain they were going to take her back to the Emerald City just to kill her anyway. But Fiyero and Damaran she did care about. Hating herself for doing it, she slowly lowered her eyes to the ground. The captain smirked, and they both knew he had won. The rest of the guards, who had been so quiet watching them, straining to hear their captain's words, abruptly picked up where they had left off on their conversation, no longer watching her, nobody holding the rope attached to her wrists, leaving her alone.

As he walked away, Elphaba watched him from the corner of her eyes. She vowed to herself to figure something out before they got to the Emerald City. She wasn't sure what they were going to do with Fiyero and Damaran. It didn't sound like they planned to kill them, but it was possible they would for no reason, or after they had killed her. She knew that she had to do something, eventually.

She stood, not 100 yards from Fiyero and Damaran just inside the castle, watching eight of the eleven Gale Force men packing tents and loading horses. The other three were stationed around the castle, one to each entrance, making sure that Fiyero and Damaran stayed in. She wasn't sure ifFiyero and Damaranplanned on trying to attack them, but she wished she had had the sense to tell them not to try while she was still with them. She didn't want them to get killed during the process; she knew that whatever she could figure out would probably be best. The men seemed slightly subdued under Elphaba's watchful eye; all of them-except the captain, it seemed-appeared to be afraid of her. The captain would look over every so often, and when he did, she would lower her eyes, digging her fingernails into her skin as she did so, angry at herself for being so helpless. The rope on her wrists was rubbing at her skin constantly, so she tried not to move her hands at all. She eyed the captain. He didn't look familiar, but she knew he definitely was. There was something about the way he said 'Elphaba', and some look in his eyes that made her knew she knew him from somewhere…but where?

She watched as the captain pulled a pocketwatch from his uniform. "We've been here nearly a half hour, men," he called out. "Time to set out!"

Elphaba felt extremely nervous all of a sudden, and had an overwhelming desire to run inside the castle and lock the door, holding onto Fiyero tightly. She looked back up at the castle, looking to see if maybe they were watching her through a window. Everything looked uninhabited and normal, however, though she knew it was neither. She knew she didn't want to go back to the Emerald City with the guards, and she certainly didn't want to die. She knew both of those were unavoidable, of course, and she knew if she ran back into the castle that it wouldn't be five seconds before the soldier guarding the front entrance would drag her out kicking and screaming while they either punished her or Fiyero and Damaran-and while she had no idea what the 'punishment' was, she knew it would be something bad. She turned back towards the soldiers, watching keenly to see what they intended to do with her on the long journey back to the Emerald City. The captain strode over to her as she watched (he seemed to forget about the "eyes down" rule) and he roughly grabbed the rope that was trailing off the knots around her wrists. "Bonally!" he shouted. One of the guards turned and walked towards them, bowing slightly. "Yes, Commander?"

"You'll hold the rope as you ride. The witch here will walk beside you." Elphaba felt like a small child, as her parents made arrangements for a nanny to watch her. She bit her lip, realizing that they probably planned to make her walk the entire way back. She would not give them the satisfaction of letting them see her tired, or aching, however. Bonally, or whatever his name was, looked a little frightened at being given the task of watching her. She noticed this and gazed at him. She would have laughed, if it hadn't been such a hopeless situation. She realized that the guards were terrified of her, and while she may not be able to scare the captain, the soldiers were certainly impressionable. Bonally bowed, however, and took the rope the captain handed him. Bonally glanced at her and pulled at the rope a bit, at which she followed him, feeling lower than a domestic dog. Every soldier was mounting a horse, and Bonally went to the third to last horse in the procession and, still holding the rope, mounted the horse. He looped it a couple times around his wrist. She breathed deep, wanting to cry but knowing she couldn't, and wouldn't, allow herself to. The captain blew the whistle and so Elphaba, humiliated and missing Fiyero already, started to walk alongside Bonally's horse. She didn't look back, not wanting to know if Fiyero or Damaran was watching, not wanting them to see her at her lowest point.


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reviewing! I love posting, then seeing that I have so many new emails from reviews! It's really exciting! Oh, and I know it seems like (well, it seems like it to me) Boq likes Elphaba a little bit, or that some of that action will be taking place later…don't expect it…it's not coming. Silvermoonset: I'll try to catch my words running together…editing it, I didn't even see them! Sawyerzelda: Yes, I did hear about Idina Menzel! It was so sad! I felt bad for all the people who went and saw her understudy. And of course, I felt much worse for Idina Menzel. It must have really been disappointing to not get to do your last performance.

Fiyero sat at the upstairs window looking out at the guard at the front, muttering curses under his breath. He sadly looked away, not knowing what to do.

It had been hours since Elphaba had left, and Fiyero felt completely lost. Her last look back at him replayed over and over in his head, her finally showing that something scared her. He was angry at himself that he couldn't do anything about it, couldn't protect her like he should. He looked back out the window at the guard. He wondered if he could attack him. But the guard had a gun, and the two other guards that would come running with a shout.It wouldn't do Elphaba any good if he was dead.

Damaran paced downstairs. He couldn't believe they had taken her. She was so strong. It didn't seem like anything could harm her. He stopped, suddenly, and sat down, cross legged and his chin on his fists, thinking hard. He knew they had to do something to help her. Fiyero was useless, and probably would be until they had a plan, he was still in shock over Elphaba leaving. He knew they couldn't stay in the house under the mercy of the Gale Force. He wasn't sure if the guards would kill them or not…it didn't seem like they planned on it, but things could certainly change. And besides that, they had to get to Elphaba. Though Damaran would never have told this to Fiyero, he doubted they _wouldn't_ kill her the minute they got back to Oz. He was still surprised that they didn't have a burial to attend to that day. Perhaps they wanted to show her off to the citizens of Oz? He shuddered, now unable to get the ghastly image of Elphaba having a public execution out of his head. He shut his eyes tightly, until he heard feet on the stairs above him. He looked up and saw Fiyero plodding down the steps. Fiyero crossed over to Damaran and sat down next to him, in the same position. Damaran looked at him hesitantly, not wanting to say anything wrong, so not saying anything at all.

They sat for a few minutes, chins on fists and legs crossed, silently, until Fiyero sighed. "So what are we going to do for food tonight?" he asked, clearly not caring whether they ate or not for the next year. Damaran shrugged. "We can go hunting."

Fiyero looked at him, wanting to strangle him for making fun of their current situation. "The guards are guarding the entrances."

"Well, I know _that_, there's a bunch of secret entrances that I've found over the past couple weeks, we can go through there." Fiyero's heart nearly stopped, and he jumped up. Damaran looked at him, surprised.

"Damaran! We can escape through the entrances and find Elphaba!" Damaran's eyes widened, and he jumped up also, feeling like a moron for not realizing that. It was Fiyero's turn to pace, and he did so, telling his plan wildly to Damaran. "We can leave as early as tonight…the guards will be less alert then, and they'll hardly be able to see us anyway. We'll need our hunting supplies, so we can free Elphaba." Damaran was grinning soon, realizing that finally they had a plan.

Elphaba walked, stumbling, feeling light-headed and slightly dizzy from the moisture in the air still, and the sweating she was doing from way too much exercise. She was great at running…short distances. A life on the run had taught her that, and her broom had always been in close proximity if she ever needed to escape. She had been walking very quickly for…what, three hours? Four? Five? She had no way of knowing. The soldiers didn't mind at all, she heard laughter a lot, usually when she fell. Her wrists stung from the rope, and she could tell the skin was bleeding. Sheknew that if she walked for much longer she would faint…there was too much water reaching her skin. After what had felt like days, the captain blew his whistle. She closed her eyes, briefly, relieved. "We'll camp here," he told them loudly. The soldiers started to get off their horses, and Bonally also got down, still holding the rope, and still not happy about it. She wavered on her feet, but stared solidly at him, hands in front of her, of course. He averted his eyes from her gaze and waved at the captain, who walked over. Bonally gave a slight bow. "What shall I do with the witch, Commander?" The captain looked her over. "I'll take over from here, Bonally, that will do," he told him, still looking at Elphaba. Bonally jogged away, joining his fellow soldiers with a relieved expression on his face.

The captain continued to stare at Elphaba, who just wanted to collapse on the ground. He seemed to size her up in that moment, and then reached for her arms and began to untie them. Elphaba was relieved, but didn't say anything. She realized she hadn't said a word to any of the guards, and didn't mind how that was working out. After untying her hands, he pulled the rope away from the arms, and surveyed her green wrists. She saw him looking and pulled her arms away, realizing how cut up and raw they were. She tried to read his face. Was it guilt? Pleasure? She really couldn't tell. He cleared his throat. "Remember, if you leave, whoever's back in that castle will pay for it." He walked away.

He didn't take five steps before she let her knees give out under her and collapsed, staring up at the foreboding grey clouds. It couldn't have been more than two in the afternoon, by how bright it was. It was still cold out, though. She drew her cape around her, sitting up. She wished she had tea, or milk, or something to drink. She had a short intake of breath. What if they had brought along only water? Her heart started to pound, hoping that wasn't the case. Though they did know that she was allergic to water…she took a deep breath, deciding to not think about it. She dabbed at her face with the cape, her skin thanking her already. She lay back down, glad she was wearing the heavy, lacy black dress and cape. She could faintly hear the soldiers off to the side, talking (probably about her, she mused) and laughing. Fiyero's face entered her mind and she pushed it back out again. She hadn't thought about either one of them-Damaran or Fiyero-throughout that day, and wished to keep it like that. It was easier to not think about them.

She slowly closed her eyes, and opened them again. She didn't want to fall asleep, not yet…but she knew it was unavoidable after herlong, terribleday, and so finally drifted off.

Boq watched Elphaba from a hundred yards away, wondering what she was thinking about. He felt a great feeling, the feeling of revenge, but also felt a tiny bit of guilt, something he definitely hadn't anticipated. Not so much that he was willing to let her go, but seeing her wrists rubbed raw from the rope…he shoved the notion out of his head, and smiled, thinking of watching her stumbling. 'How the mighty have fallen,' he observed, savagely. She looked awfully cold in her cape, and he saw her lay down, getting ready for a nap probably, he decided. He was right, and he watched her for a few minutes, tossing and turning in sleep, almost never still. He stood up, dusting off his jacket. He was sure the soldiers must be hungry, as they hadn't stopped since getting Elphaba. They had brought along dried meat, flat bread (the latter was probably all going to Elphaba, as nobody would touch it), tea, water, and a few fruits. He whistled. He had been given the whistle by Glinda-it was part of his uniform. He loved blowing it. It made him feel extremely important. He noticed Elphaba jolt up out of sleep, then sit up, watching steadfastly. "If you'd like, we could have supper now," he said, feeling stupid. He was going to shout out something like, "Dinner!" or "You can eat now, men!" but he felt a little intimidated with Elphaba watching him. The soldiers got into their packs on the horses and grabbed the food. Elphaba stayed where she was. Boq also went over to a horse and grabbed the flat bread, and a teabag.

He boiled some water on a fire that the soldiers made, added it to a cup, and stirred the teabag into it. He carried that and the bread and made his way over to Elphaba. She took it from him, still not saying anything. She seemed to refuse to talk. She quickly took a large drink from the tea, which Boq smiled at, glad that the journey had made her thirsty. To make sure she knew he still hated her, he added to her, "Next time you can get it yourself." Her eyes looked up at him, almost laughing at him. She kept staring as she took a bite of the flat bread, her face not showing any sign of disgust, just amusement. As he turned around to go back to his place near the soldiers, they both knew that he may hold the ropes, but she was in charge.


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing! This chapter's insanely short (and nothing happens, and it's kind of bad), but only because I'm eager to move on! I'll try to update as soon as possible (tomorrow or the next day, probably) to make up for it. I have a couple more chapters until I get to (one of) the good parts. Jemima: Yes, Idina Menzel left the show January ninth. I'm not sure who replaced her, though…I seriously doubt they're better than she was. Gabsgrl: Haha of course you can tell me that! Yay! I'm glad you like it. Sawyerzelda: I love how enthusiastic you are about my story! I can't help but smile when I read your reviews! Thanks so much!Silvermoonset: This may sound like a really lame excuse, but I think fanfiction may be running my words together accidentally…I read through it twice on the preview feature and didn't catch those…and you'd think spell check on Word would catch them also. I don't know, for this one I'll look extra hard and see what happens. And you'll get Glinda/Boq! I hadn't planned on it, but when I read your first review asking for it I thought it was a good idea. : ) Frederick Charleston: Nope, she's not there yet! I'll continue, I promise! Whogirl: LOL I'm as impatient as you are! I have like, two chapters planned out that I really want to get to, and it's bothering me that I can't just skip right ahead to them! But I don't want to make this ultra short, so I'm kind of dawdling along.

Damaran stared out the window. It was nearly nighttime. Once it was all dark outside, he and Fiyero planned to escape the castle. It was getting darker, still…it was probably six in the evening. He and Fiyero were completely ready to go…they had packed up weapons and some food…they planned on hunting, anyway, so they didn't know how much they would need. Damaran turned away from the window, looking at Fiyero, who was sitting on the bed he and Elphaba had shared. He looked determined, also watching the sky, waiting for it to get darker. Only once had Damaran left through the exit they planned on leaving through, and if he remembered correctly, it would open up a trapdoor right next to the castle on the left of the castle. There was a guard on the right, back, and front sides of the castle, so unless someone was patrolling, they shouldn't be caught. Damaran stood up. "Do we need to bring anything for Elphaba? You know, that she might have forgotten?"

"Maybe her broom."

Damaran was glad to stand up and pick up the broom that was lying next to the bed. He sat down again, next to the window, the broom across his lap. He looked back down at the guard below. The guard looked as bored as he felt. That was the first time that the thought struck him that the guards were human. He didn't really think of them as people…just the evil men who wanted to kill Elphaba. He sighed, knowing that that night he would possibly kill that guard in his escape attempt. He didn't want to think about that, though, and put the thought out of his head. He sighed.

"Don't sigh!" Fiyero shouted, really annoyed. Damaran raised his eyebrows sarcastically and, about to sigh but catching himself at the last minute, stood up, taking the broom with him, and walked out the door. He walked down the steep staircase, shutting the door behind him. He wasn't angry, really, just a tad bit bored. He stepped onto the landing of the staircase and sighed, throwing the broom down. He began to pace in the living room, wondering what Elphaba was doing at that moment. He stopped, not really wanting to think about what Elphaba was doing right then, and flopped down on the couch, bored, and sighed.

Fiyero went to the window, positioning himself where Damaran had just been sitting. He looked down at the guard. He was a tall man, muscular and intimidating. Fiyero looked away, breathing deep. He was excited, really, about breaking out. He never had liked rules. He hoped the guardsweren't mistreating Elphaba. But he knew that they probably were. He remembered watching her collapse after the guards poured the water onto her and he felt enraged all of the sudden. He wanted to go strangle the guard at the front, but he stayed where he was, knowing that while revenge would certainly be nice, it was more important to get Elphaba out of the guards custody. It was getting darker. He couldn't wait for the second that he and Damaran would escape from the house. He resumed watching out the window, waiting for it to reach complete blackness.

Elphaba sat up, surveying the white tents all set up. She had wrapped herself tightly in her cape, as it was rather cold. It hadn't started raining yet, thank goodness, but she assumed it would soon…it had nearly been nonstop for a long time. The superstitious soldiers thoughtit had stopped rainingbecause they had found the Wicked Witch of the West, but she knew it was probably coincidence. Probably, but a part of herknew that it could be somebody messing with the weather…

She sighed. They hadn't given her a tent…which she was okay with. She almost seemed free without one. But she didn't dare leave. She knew that if Fiyero and Damaran could see her, completely able to leave and never come back, yet still there, they would be furious. She also knew, though, that the familiar commander would hold true to his promise. After seeing how willingly he had ordered water on her, she wasn't going to put anything past him. She sighed again, then laughed to herself, remembering Damaran's annoying habit. She lay back down on the grass, trying to think of something. She couldn't stay there. She knew that. She could stay with them for the time being…but sooner or later, she would _need_ to make an escape. She supposed she could go back to Damaran and Fiyero in the castle and try to get all of them to leave together…but there were always flaws in that plan. First, of course, she didn't really see how she could get into the castle without the guards seeing her, at least not without her broom. And not only that, but with the soldiers discovering her gone, even with a head start, they would move much quicker than she did, being on horses, and they very well could catch up with her on the way down there. And then she'd even worse off than she was right then. She brought her knees closer to her chest, wrapping her cape around her again. "I wish you were here, Fiyero," she whispered quietly, as a soft wind whipped the long grass around her.


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: Hmm…Shoshana Bean…I just did some research on her…she looks like she could be an Elphaba. And I'll start making the paragraphs when different people speak. Thanks so much for the heads-up on that!

Fiyero and Damaran walked swiftly and quietly down the passageway underneath the castle towards the exit Damaran promised it would lead to. They each had strapped a bow and arrows to their back, Damaran had a spear, and Fiyero was carrying Elphaba's broom. Damaran also carried a pack on his back with a lot of water, some tea (for Elphaba when they got her back) and some food. Fiyero's heart was beating wildly, and Damaran's eyes were wide. Fiyero looked ahead and saw that the tunnel ended not very far in front of them. Damaran stopped, and Fiyero stopped with him, not knowing where they were headed. Damaran looked up, and Fiyero followed his eyes. There was a small square panel in the ceiling above them. Damaran walked over the few feet towards the wall and started to grab at the bricks making the wall, hoisting himself up. Fiyero watched him, admiring the agility of the teenager. Damaran got to the top of the wall (it only had to be seven feet high) and, holding onto the wall with one hand, reached into the center of the four foot wide ceiling and pushed upwards on the panel. It lifted easily, the dirt already having been broken not very long ago by Damaran himself. Damaran kept lifting and setthe panelon the ground next to the hole. Still not looking at or speaking to Fiyero, he grabbed onto the edges of the hole and, poking his head out of it first to make sure no guards were around, lifted himself easily onto the ground above their heads. Once Damaran was safely out, he put his head back in. "Hurry," he whispered. "The guards could walk by any minute."

Fiyero nodded, and crossed to the wall Damaran had climbed up. He tried to grab it while holding Elphaba's broom, but realized he couldn't. "Hold the broom," he whispered to Damaran. Damaran reached down for the broom that Fiyero held out, and took it from him, setting it next to him. Fiyero put an arm up, realizing the bricks weren't as easy to hold onto as Damaran made it look. Grunting, he pulled himself up to the hole, and grabbed the edges, as he had seen Damaran do. He hoisted himself out, sitting on the ground next to Damaran. Damaran smiled at him.

"We should go," Damaran told him quietly. He handed the broom back to him, then set the panel carefully back into the hole in the ground. If you hadn't have known it was there, you never would have seen it.They both stood up, still a little nervous. Fiyero looked around for the guards, feeling accomplished. Fiyero knew the way back to the Emerald City would be long, and if they traveled quickly enough with not much time for breaks, they would soon catch up. Not seeing any guards, he crossed in front of Damaran.

"We can travel through the woods, for now," Fiyero told him, whispering. He started to walk quietly, trying to avoid twigs. "Once we're safely away from the castle, we can walk on open land." They looked slightly comical, hunched over and arms out, almost like two children playing spies. They made it to the woods. When they were in the safe territory of trees and bushes, they both breathed sighs of relief, laughing quietly to each other. Damaran grinned excitedly.

"We should probably get going fast," he said. "We have a lot of ground to make up."

Fiyero nodded in agreement, and, adrenaline still rushing from their escape, the two of them began to walk in the direction of the Emerald City.

Glinda smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "My dear Ozians," she said quietly. "It is important for us to remember-"

"No."

"Those…less fortunate…"

"No."

"We're not a perfect society, and-"

"Certainly not."

She frowned at herself. The anonymous group hadn't stopped sending her letters about the Animals, and she had to decide on something. She was trying to rehearse a speech, to make the group happy. She didn't exactly know what to say, though. She wanted the group to stop sending her letters, and she wanted the Animals to be okay, and she wanted the citizens of Oz to be happy with her. The Wizard had brainwashed most citizens into thinking that all the Animals shouldn't speak, and should be kept in cages, and everyone (excluding the few sending her letters and Elphie, of course) wanted to keep it the way it was. She scrunched her nose, then giggled, realizing how cute she looked with her nose scrunched. Then she sighed, still not knowing what to do. After thinking nearly a minute, she decided that she would wait…one month. If Elphie was back by then (which she expected) she would get Elphie's consent on it. She knew, subconsciously, what Elphie would have to say about it…give all Animals equal rights! But perhaps that's what Glinda really wanted to do, so she stuck with that plan. She smiled at herself again in the mirror. She was a good thinker.

Pleased with herself, she wandered back into her room. Besides the Animal issue, she didn't really have anything to do. Everyone was okay. It was different, she thought, not having something to do. She sat in her frilly pink skirts on her bed. A smile grew, as her thoughts once again turned to Elphie. She could hardly stop thinking about her…she was so excited to get her best friend back. She rarely considered the possibility of Elphie being dead anymore. She was alive, and that was what she was going to believe until Boq came back-with or without her. She wondered if they had found her, and what she was doing right then. Boq was probably being mean to her, she thought. But she wouldn't be mistreated, as Glinda had told them to not do anything bad to her. She wished that Elphie could be brought back to Oz with a grand welcoming committee waiting for her…but she knew that if the news about Elphie somehow had leaked out, she would be met with jeers and taunts. Or, frightened looks and screams. Glinda didn't know which one would win out. She tried to not think about that, though. Once Elphie was loved by all citizens of Oz, they would live happily ever after, with husbands for each of them and being the most powerful and celebratedpeople in all of Oz. Glinda sighed happily. With the Wizard gone and Morrible behind bars, she knew Elphie would be happy to be back. After all, they were the reason that Elphie had left in the first place, right? They were behind everything. Without them, she and Elphie would be in the palace, right then, with Fiyero as…well, one of their husbands. But now Fiyero was dead, and Elphie was either dead also (which she wouldn't accept), she was living by herself or with people that probably didn't want her anyway, or she was captured by Boq and his army. Glinda shrugged the thought away that maybe being captured wasn't the _best_ way to bring her back, after all, it was all going to be okay in the long run, right? She smiled to herself. The rest of their lives were going to be so great.


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Thank you whogirl, jemima, PoetryOutLoud and SawyerZelda for the reviews! I appreciate it! And to Legawien, you haven't reviewed, but you put me on your favorites list which deserves recognition! Thanks so much! Sawyerzelda: Boq's not evil! Well, he is right now, but he'll get better, I promise! And no, I don't live in New York, but I go there every now and then because I have family there. I'd love to live there, though! PoetryOutLoud: I love Glinda's naivety also. It's very fun. : ) And have you seen the musical? (SPOILER) Because at the end of the musical, when Elphaba and Glinda are in the castle, Elphaba gets a letter…Glinda says, "It's Fiyero, isn't it?" and Elphaba says, "You won't be seeing his face any longer." (or something like that). So they all think Fiyero died (except, of course, for Elphaba). And to all of you, I've been planning this chapter for awhile…don't think me evil! Keep reading after this, I promise you'll be satisfied! Well, no, I don't, but do keep reading even if you're mad! I hate the writing on this chapter. I don't know why. It's just not very good. Notthe plot (which I know you all willhate) but the writing itself. Oh well. Review, all! Oh yeah, and I have no idea if they'd have saddles and reins in Oz…let's pretend they do, shall we?

Elphaba glared at the captain as he whistled, making sure everything got packed up quickly. Her arms were crossed in front of her as she surveyed them all, standing. It was obvious they tried to make a point of not looking at her, keeping their eyes trained to the ground as they walked in front of her. She turned her head back towards the captain, who had been looking at her, but guiltily turned his head away when she caught him. The corner of her mouth twitched, almost smiling, but she quickly turned her head to the ground, not really wanting to show any signs of emotion at all. She looked back up at the guards, unfolding her arms. She heard the captain whistle again. "It's time, men!" She looked up at the sky. Dark, still, it couldn't have been more than five in the morning. The captain turned his head toward her and jerked his head slightly, as if to tell her to come. Stubbornly, her first instinct was to plant her feet into the ground and make them physically carry her, but remembering Fiyero, Damaran, and the rope they could easily tie around her wrists, she strolled towards them and the horses. She wondered, for a moment, if they would let her ride on one of the horses that carried supplies, but put the thought out of her head, not hoping. All of the men began to mount their horses, and she looked away, putting an uninterested expression on her face, and re-crossing her arms.

"Elphaba!"

Her head turned swiftly, a curious expression on her face. It grew silent as everybody looked at the captain who had called her name. His face grew red, as he realized his mistake. He had made it once before, she remembered, the morning before. She swallowed, almost as if the name was too much to bear. "What?" she whispered, the first time she had spoken in front of the captain or his guards.

"Ah, well, Witch, you'll have to walk, again. Walk, Witch."

Still looking at him oddly, she paused and then nodded. Him calling her 'Witch' twice was just, she knew, him trying to make up for his mistake…but she wasn't going to easily forget it. It just reminded her more that she definitely knew him. The captain whistled once again (she was about to rip that annoying whistle off his neck) and they all started off.

"Damaran, come on!"

"I'm tired!"

"I don't care!" Fiyero was extremely exasperated with the teenager, who was about to collapse on the ground. He sighed and sank to his knees, also tired. "I just…we need to catch up to Elphaba."

Damaran looked at Fiyero, and a newfound determination rose in him. "All right. Let's go." He said, nodding his head.

Fiyero looked up at him, smiling. "Good. We should catch up to her soon," he exclaimed, springing to his feet. Damaran smiled, wishing he could feel so confident. He, however, didn't think they'd catch up to her. He hoped, of course, that they would…but he didn't think so. Compared to horses, walking just wasn't very fast. It was true, that they had been walking all night…but still.

The two continued to walk, now in the openness of the vast expanse with nobody near. They hadn't yet stopped to eat or drink, and Damaran definitely feeling it. It was still fairly early morning, so it wasn't hot outside, but it was a bit tiring. He almost sighed, but caught himself, not wanting to anger Fiyero. He could tell Fiyero's nerves were getting to him, as he continued to bite his lip, which was a nervous habit he hadn't seen him do before. He looked out in front of him and squinted, then gasped and stopped, putting out a hand for Fiyero to stop too.

Far ahead of them, almost so far away they weren't able to see them, there were horses, and people.

Elphaba, though her legs were slightly sore from the day before, found it much easier to walk when she wasn't being half-dragged. She walked next to the captain's horse, as she was sick of the whistle he would blow when she would try to lag behind a bit. They were going at her pace, that day, which she was extremely happy about. She could really tell how much they feared her. Well, the guards feared her-the captain feared showing herany signs of recognition. As she walked, she tried hard to remember. Could she know him from school? She studied his face. He looked young enough for that possibility. There were many from Shiz that hated her-she couldn't recall them all. Maybe she knew him through someone in her family? Her father? Nessa? She shook her head, knowing that eventually it would come to her.

Out of nowhere, she heard a cry from behind her. Startled, she turned around, as the captain turned his horse to look behind. The rider on the horse behind her had fallen off, clutching his arm. Everyone stopped their horses in their tracks, and there were shouts of surprise. Her head turned sharply to the tall grass to their right, where she saw movement about a hundred yards off, and then Fiyero stood up, swiftly took aim, and shot an arrow, which he then disappeared back into the grass. Her eyes widened in surprise, her feetrooted to the ground, unable to move. Fiyero missed, but almost nobody missed seeing him. The horses all around her were whinnying, and the riders jumping off them. It was chaotic, and she stayed where she was, eyes darting back and forth between the grass and the guards, wondering how two (or one, she thought, she hadn't seen Damaran yet) people could put eight trained guards into complete panic. She looked back at the grass wildly, and saw Damaran stand up, a bow in his hand. He quickly put an arrow into it, as she looked behind her. She saw a guard also take out a bow and arrow, and he shot. She turned her head wildly back to Damaran, who didn't see the arrow coming. It hit his chest, and she saw his eyes widen and mouth drop open in surprise as he fell backwards, and she was certain that he had just been killed.

She gasped, and began to run forward. The guards acted fast and two grabbed each of her arms, holding them out to her side as she writhed in their grasp, kicking and squirming. Three guards came in front of her then, pointing spears directly at her, while one other guard managed to grasp her ankles from behind. They seemed more afraid of losing her than Fiyero shooting more arrows at them. The guards had a hard time holding onto her, and she thrashed desperately, not sure if she was trying to get free, as she knew she couldn't. She felt her legs being let go of for only a second, and then grabbed hold of again, as somebody else started to wrap rope around her ankles. She tried hard to move her legs about so they couldn't, but it didn't work. The two guards holding onto her arms brought them behind her as the guard tying her legs tied more rope around her wrists, tying very tightly. The three guards held onto her tightly, as she still was writhing, though knowing she wouldn't be able to walk anymore with her ankles tied. That entire episode hadn't taken long to complete, and the captain strode next to the group surrounding Elphaba, speaking out to the grass in which Fiyero still was, probably deciding what to do, Elphaba thought.

"Do you see this?!" The captain shouted out, pointing to Elphaba. "You did this with your stupidity! And you stay right where you are! You show yourself again, and we'll kill her! Do you hear me?!" The captain stood still for a moment, almost as if waiting for Fiyero to answer him. Fiyero didn't pop up again, which Elphaba was grateful for…for his sake and hers. She twisted again, and the captain went back to his horse. The guards watched him, still holding to Elphaba or their spears, waiting for instruction. She didn't watch him, but could hear his horse trotting over to them. She gave a final twist as the guards and the captain lifted her onto his horse and set her in front of him in the saddle, once again sidesaddle. It made her so angry that she had to sit with him…and that they had killed Damaran…the anger just started to billow out of her, and she turned around suddenly only a second before the guard who had shot Damaran fell to the ground, twitching convulsively. He yelled out in pain, and a few guards (including the one who had been shot in the arm-the cut had not been too deep) ran to him. He twisted and screamed as she kept her gaze on him. The captain, right behind her on the horse, didn't connect the dots until a few moments had passed, and he smacked her, hard enough to break her gaze. The guard stopped jerking and lay panting on the ground. She stared back at him, trying to make him feel pain again, but nothing happened. The guards lifted him up to his feet, and he stood for a moment, okay. The guards had watched her during that, and knew what had really happened. They all stood, wide-eyed in fear, and backed away from her, the captain, and the horse they were on. She could feel that the captain was tense behind her.

"Well?!" The captain shouted. Elphaba could sense the fear in his voice. "Get on a horse and let's get going!" The soldiers all scrambled towards a horse, and she looked back out at the grass. There was no movement. She didn't know why they didn't kill Fiyero on the spot…but she was glad they didn't. With her arms behind her, she couldn't hold on to anything, and she was afraid she'd slip off the horse during the ride. The captain put his arms around her, holding onto the reins. His elbows dug into her ribs, slightly, and she was a little bit grateful. At least she wouldn't fall off. He put his horse at a canter, and they led the procession. She looked back once more at where Fiyero and Damaran had been shooting from, and bit her lip to keep from crying out to Fiyero. 'Damaran,' she thought silently, angrily, and sadly all at the same time. 'I'm so sorry.'


	12. Chapter Twelve

Damaran hadn't been killed.

After seeing the procession ahead of them the day before, Damaran and Fiyero looked at each other, wide-eyed in surprise, and grins grew on both their faces. Fiyero looked to the right and left, and saw where the grass grew tall on their right, taller than waist high. "We'll go there," he told Damaran, whispering, as if the guards and Elphaba could hear them at the distance away that they were. The two of them sprinted over to the grass and ducked down.

"So what's our plan?" Damaran asked, speaking softly.

Fiyero gazed into the distance in thought. "I don't know," he admitted. "We can't very well waltz up to them and ask them to please unhand Elphaba."

"We could try and fight them," Damaran suggested.

Fiyero rolled his eyes., then stopped. "That might actually not be too bad," he said thoughtfully. As he spoke, his eyes became brighter with excitement. "We could catch them off guard…we wouldn't beat them, of course, but surprise them just enough that one of us could go and get Elphaba, maybe…"

Damaran narrowed his eyes at Fiyero. "That sounds a bit risky, don't you think?"

"Yes."

Damaran couldn't say anything to that, and he realized however flawed Fiyero's plan was, they'd have to use it. He nodded. Fiyero smiled at him, and the two, who had been sitting in the tall grass, stood up, hunched over, and started to run in the direction they knew the guards were taking Elphaba.

They paused in their running ten minutes later, both tired and cramped, and Fiyero, motioning for Damaran to stay down, peeked over the grass. They were ahead of the guards and Elphaba, but not by much. He could tell that Elphaba was walking…but he couldn't see her facial expression. He ducked back down.

"Well?" Damaran asked, excitedly.

"We're ahead of them," Fiyero told him, taking the bow off of his back and putting an arrow into it. Damaran took his cue and did the same. "We'll need the spear, too, possibly," he told Damaran. Damaran nodded and set it within reaching grasp. "Damaran, you're better at shooting than I am, so you'll go first."

Damaran raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When you see them come near, I want you to stand up, aim for an easy target, and hit them with your arrow. You don't necessarily have to kill them, but you have to hit them."

Damaran nodded. "I can do that," he said confidently.

Fiyero smiled at him tensely. "Good," he said. "Now, when they start to run towards us-which they will, I'm certain of it, they're not just going to stand there and let themselves be shot at-you'll run, I'll go get Elphaba."

"You know, she's not terribly dumb, I think she might have the brains to run on her own accord, you may not have to actually carry her."

Fiyero heard the sarcasm but didn't register it. He nodded gravely. "Yes, but they could be holding her there, or something."

Damaran swallowed, and Fiyero peeked above the grass. "Okay, they're coming. Get ready."

Damaran took a deep breath, very nervous. He stood, crouched over, peering above the top of the tall grass. He could see them, almost straight across from them about a hundred yards off. Most were on horses, but Elphaba was walking. He looked at her wrists. They weren't tied, which he was glad for. He readied his bow and arrow, and saw a soldier turn around to the man behind him, point to Elphaba, and say something obviously hilarious, as it was difficult for them to contain their laughter. That was his target, he decided, and took aim at the man who joked, pulling the arrow back, but not yet releasing it. Fiyero was also peering above the grass, waiting for the perfect moment. "Okay, wait, wait…okay, now."

Damaran released the arrow, and it hit the man in the arm. The man clutched his arm and fell backwards with a shout. He ducked down quickly, and looked over the grass, fairly confident no one could see him. The soldiers looked confused, shouting and pulling their horses to stops. He looked over at Elphaba. She also looked confused, and looked wildly around, hands to her side, almost as if trying to regain balance. He looked at Fiyero, who was crouched over, about ready to stand up. He drew his arrow back, then stood up suddenly and released, coming down quickly. Damaran still watched through the grass, and Fiyero's arrow didn't hit anybody. The soldiers-and Elphaba-all looked over at where they were, though. They had definitely been seen. Damaran took a deep breath, gaining courage, and stood up. He drew an arrow back, and prepared to release.

Fiyero watched, crouched on the ground, as Damaran drew the arrow back. Out of nowhere, an arrow hit Damaran sharply on the chest, and he gasped, stumbled, and fell backwards. Fiyero gasped himself, and rushed to his side. "Damaran!" he whispered sharply. Damaran smiled weakly, scared to death, and sat up.

"Blunt arrow," he said, relieved. "It left a bruise, I think." The two, remembering that they were in the course of battle, peered back through the grass, wondering what their enemy was doing then.

They saw Elphaba, twisting and writhing in the hands of the Gale Force. "Elphaba," Fiyero gasped, and attempted to stand up. Damaran held onto his arm, restraining him.

"No, not yet," he said sharply. "We wait until there's a chance."

Elphaba had three guards pointing sharp looking spears at her, and they were bringing her arms behind her, tying them. A closer look revealed that her ankles were already tied closely together, and she was kicking and attempting to wrench herself from their grips with an admirable force, making the soldiers holding onto her use their muscles to hold on.

The same guard who had ordered the others to throw water onto Elphaba (the captain, they both assumed) pointed to her as she twisted with all her strength. "Do you see this?!" he shouted to the grass. "You did this with your stupidity!" At that, Damaran had to put both of his arms on Fiyero's shoulders, as he sensed that Fiyero would kill him if he got the chance. "And you stay right where you are!" The captain continued. "You show yourself again and we'll kill her! Do you hear me?!"

Fiyero stopped straining against Damaran's grasp, defeated. It took only a moment's thought to realize that the captain _would_ kill her if they did show themselves-they would accomplish nothing that day. He and Damaran kept watching.

The captain went back to his horse, and Elphaba seemed to cease fighting the guards. She looked down at the ground, soldiers surrounding her on all sides, as the captain rode up behind her. He motioned for the guards to hand Elphaba to him. The three guards holding Elphaba lifted her up, the guard helping to situate her on his horse, and she twisted once more, a sight that sent Fiyero's heart lurching. They sat her sidesaddle in front of the captain, her hands behind her and feet together. The expression on her face was one of fury, and Fiyero felt that the person who had made her mad should be scared for their lives right then. Almost on cue, her head turned sharply behind her, and the guard who Fiyero recognized as the one who had attempted to kill Damaran fell to the ground. He twitched and screamed, having some sort of seizure. Damaran's and Fiyero's eyes grew wide, never seeing Elphaba display power quite like this before. They stared back and forth between Elphaba and the guard on the ground, until finally the captain sitting behind Elphaba realized what she was doing and hit her, which made her break her gaze and the guard stop moving. He panted on the ground, a few guards surrounding him. Everyone knew what Elphaba had done, and they backed away slowly, wide-eyed in fear. She didn't look at any of them, but stared off into the distance, her look of fury replaced by a look of deep sadness. The guards all stood up, as the captain blew his whistle and told them to move out. They saw Elphaba turn around to look back at the guards, then turned back around as the captain behind her put his arms around her, gripping the reins and moving on. She looked out at the grass, and it seemed almost as if she could see them. Fiyero had a selfish urge to stand and call out to her, but he wanted to give them no more excuse for them to hurt her. The guards all followed the first horse, a considerable distance away, and the two watched as they went out of sight.

Fiyero fell back onto the ground. "I'm such a moron," he related emotionlessly.

Damaran almost nodded, but didn't. After all, he hadn't done much to discourage the plan.

"I can't believe we did that. All we accomplished was to get Elphaba tied up. I mean, she could have escaped! She was practically free! But now, there's no chance at all."

Damaran sat back, thinking hard. "She was practically free."

"I know! Now she's completely helpless."

Damaran was puzzled. "So…why didn't she just go?"

"What?"

"She was practically free. Why didn't she just leave, right then?"

Fiyero sighed impatiently. "I don't know, they would have…speared her, or something."

"No…Elphaba would have tried to go, at least. She wouldn't have just domestically walked on. No, she stayed because we were still captive. She was worried for _us_."

Fiyero started to put the pieces together mentally. "So now that she knows that we're not still there-"

"As soon as she gets the chance, she'll leave."

Fiyero sat up, excited. "So we did accomplish something."

"Yes."

"Well then," he said calmly, picking up his bow, the spear, and Elphaba's broom, "I say we continue to follow them."

A/N: Everyone celebrate! Damaran's not dead! YEA! LOL yeah, I think a few of you suspected Damaran might still be alive…and I thought I was so darn clever in hiding it. LOL. It would have made more sense to combine this chapter with the last one, but I wanted you to think Damaran had died…because I'm cruel like that. : ) Nothing much was accomplished in this chapter, in terms of the story moving along, I mean, but I like it. Don't know why, but I do. And I hit fifty reviews! Yea! Thanks so much, you guys! I really appreciate all the enthusiastic reviews…you're so sweet! You guys rock, keep reviewing!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Wow, you guys, thank you all so much. I have nothing specific to say to anybody (except Gena B; I added in dots to separate the characters, you're right, it's confusing otherwise) but your reviews were really so nice last chapter. Seriously, I can't tell you how exciting it is to read all of the reviews, and they all say such nice things! Probably too nice, but I can settle for that! LOL thanks again you guys! Keep reviewing, you're so awesome! This chapter's sad…but oh well, I kind of like it. I plan on having Elphaba meeting Glinda soon, by the way…hehe. That will be fun. : )

Elphaba was furious. She sat quietly, stewing, still wondering how any of them were alive with the rage she was feeling at that moment. She could still feel the captain's arms surrounding her, and she had half a mind to lean down and bite his arm. She didn't, though…she would escape, she _would_, but she needed an excuse first. Her wrists, already aggravated from the day before, were sticky with blood, and her ankles were beginning to feel it also. They had to have been riding for four hours at least she knew, and they had been going at a fast pace. They had to stop soon.

She was right. That dreaded whistle was blown right into her ear, making her turn around and have to catch herself before she completely lost her temper. She turned back around, looking down at the ground. Their horse was stopped, and others stopped behind them. Elphaba and the captain stayed on their horse while the others got off. The captain motioned a few over, and two stood in front of the horse, tentative and scared. She felt herself, again, being lifted like she was weightless by the captain and slid down to the two guards. They let her stand up for a moment, holding on tightly to each arm, while considering what to do with her. "Just leave her there," the captain told them, seeing that they couldn't decide. The guards gladly let go, almost running away from her. It left her a bit off-balance, and she almost fell, not being able to put her feet out to stop herself from it, but caught her balance at the last moment. She stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. The captain jumped off his horse and walked away from her, giving her a slight push to make her fall over. It wasn't a hard push…just one to make sure she was sitting. She fell onto her knees, and arranged herself so that she was curled with her feet to the side under the folds of her dress. She put one elbow down so that she was half laying down, but could still watch them all. They were more frightened of her than ever. She could see it. She couldn't blame them…she had forced one of them into more pain than he had ever felt, and if she ever got out of the bondage she was currently in, she would leave without a second thought. Fiyero and Damaran being gone gave her more power than ever, even if she was tied up. As soon as she figured out a way to get the ropes off her, she would escape, and find them. That night, she decided, she would get out.

That didn't happen. As soon as everyone had gone into their tents and it had grown quiet, she experimented with the ropes. No matter how she twisted her wrists, the ropes didn't come off, it only made her wrists hurt all the more. She quickly abandoned that idea. She tried to get her arms under her legs, but that didn't work either. Halfheartedly, she attempted to raise her arms over her head, but she knew it wouldn't work, and it didn't. Again, without much hope at all, she tried to get her arms under her legs. She fell onto her back in despair. The horse next to her nudged her shoulder, almost in sympathy. She swallowed, hard, having to work to keep the tears inside. The horse snorted, and she managed to sit up, letting the horse rub his nose on her face. She brought her knees up to her forehead and let her head rest there. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she related to the horse, whispering. "If I don't manage to get out, they'll kill me. But I can't get out. I don't know how!" She squinted her eyes shut tightly and pursed her lips. "And they killed Damaran!" she told the horse angrily. It snorted again. "It's all my fault, too. If Damaran hadn't gotten mixed up with me…" She sighed, deeply sad and angry about the death of Damaran. She brought her forehead from her knees. Her arms ached, but she tried not to think of it. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well," she told the horse resignedly. "If my fate is to die at the end of all this, I think I can deal with that. As long as Fiyero doesn't end up the same as me…" she closed her eyes, leaning back. She found it uncomfortable to lay on her arms, so she turned to her side. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep that night, and felt almost as if a huge weight was upon her. She closed her eyes, not tired, just thinking.

She felt the severe burning at her eyes as the tear managed to escape from her closed eye. She sat up wildly, blindly, her hair getting in the way as she attempted to wipe her eye on her shoulder, not succeeding. She raised her knee quickly to her face and pressed her eye into the material of her dress on her knee, still feeling the burning sensation. It gradually subsided, and she breathed deeply, heart still pounding from the pain she had just felt. She smiled wryly at herself, how genuinely pathetic she was at that moment. The unhappy smile left her face quickly, though, and she eventually lay back down to spend the rest of the sleepless night.

…

Boq watched her quietly from his tent, not sleeping. She seemed to be trying to get out of her ropes, but wasn't succeeding. She finally lay down, apparently giving up. He watched in surprise as his own horse went over to her and nuzzled her shoulder. She responded to the gesture gratefully, and sat up. The horse continued rubbing his nose on her face, and she brought her knees up, putting her forehead onto them. She looked…sad wasn't the right word. It was along those lines, though. Like she had given up. He could tell that she was whispering, either to the horse or to herself, but he couldn't begin to make out what she said. He did hear when she said angrily, "And they killed Damaran!" The horse snorted at her. She continued. "It's all my fault, too. If Damaran hadn't gotten mixed up with me…" he saw her sigh, and bring her forehead up. She looked at the horse, and the look on her face looked as if she had given up. "Well, if my fate is to die at the end of all this, I think I can deal with that." Boq looked at her incredulously. That didn't sound like her at all. "As long as Fiyero doesn't end up the same as me."

Boq watched her fall back, then turn to her side. He realized, at that moment, that however small or cold it was, she definitely had a heart, and she did care for at least two people other than herself. He looked down, feeling a little bad at what he was putting her through, and remembered the tin _she_ had put _him_ through. He shook his head, though, knowing he should be able to forgive…but no, he wasn't giving up then, he had a job to do anyway. He continued to watch her, not at all sleepy.

Elphaba sat up with a jolt, and tried desperately to wipe her eyes with her shoulder. When she couldn't manage to get her shoulder to her eye, she brought her knees up and pressed her eyes against them. He watched all that, and it nearly made his heart break. She was crying. He didn't know she could, with her water allergy…and he had never thought of her crying. He turned away from her, not wanting to see any more of her acting human. He lay down, and attempted to forget all about what he had just seen.

…

Elphaba was tired the next morning, tired and fatigued for not eating at all the day before, and eating very little the day before that. Again, she was riding with the captain, limbs still tied together. She wasn't too tired to muster glares at each and every one of them, however. Even if she knew she was going to die eventually, she wasn't going to give up. She would continue until the end to fight them on their rules, their ropes, and their keeping Fiyero away from her. They were moving slower that day, she supposed because they thought Fiyero had given up trying to find them. She had to admit that she was wondering the same. She had a feeble hope that he would come and rescue her, but then she also hoped beyond all hopes that she could rescue herself. She wouldn't put Fiyero in any danger if she could manage that.

She sighed, and strained her feet against the ropes, knowing it wouldn't do anything. She relaxed again, and hissed. Something wet had just dropped onto her cheek. As she managed to wipe it off with her shoulder, she looked at the sky in dread. Clouds. Lots of them, and the sky was dark. She shrank into herself, looking down. She felt the captain become a bit tense as he felt the rain also. The whistle blew behind her, but she was too afraid of a rainstorm to care much. "All right, we need to stop here, set up the tents, quickly!" The captain remained calm, though he seemed a little frightened. He halted the horse, and the two sat for a moment, until the captain realized enough to pull the cape around Elphaba's shoulders more. She didn't appreciate him doing anything for her, and wished he'd leave her alone. She didn't say anything, though, and let him cover her. The soldiers had gotten a few tents up already, and the captain once again handed her down to a soldier. "Untie her feet," the captain ordered. The soldier looked at him quizzically.

"But…captain…she could-"

"I don't care, untie her feet, I told you."

Elphaba felt a new hope rise in her. If her feet were untied, she could easily get away…when it stopped raining. The captain could almost see the plan forming in her head, and he put a hand up. "I'll be guarding you the whole time," he told her firmly, and her hope vanished.

She sat in the tent across from the captain, hands still tied behind her, and he held a rope, just in case he needed to get control of her. She looked away, still angry how poorly she was being treated.

"Don't look so angry."

She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow, still not saying anything.

"You deserve this, you know."

"Nobody I ever knew deserved this." Her first sentence spoken directly to the captain.

"Oh, really? I know you knew at least one that deserved this."

"Care to enlighten me?"

The captain opened his mouth, about to say it, but thought better of it. "Forget it, stop talking."

Elphaba looked at him curiously. "Who?"

He squinted at her. "Your sister, all right? You and your sister."

It was that moment that the light clicked on in Elphaba's head. She gasped. "Boq!" she said, surprised. His eyes darted from side to side.

"No, I don't know who you think I am or you are, calling me that, but-"

"No, you are! Boq, you don't have to do this! I know you were upset that I turned you into tin, but you must understand, that wasn't me, that wasn't my fault!"

He stormed out of the tent, angry, while she watched him, mouth slightly open. "No, that was your fault! You ruined my life! And now I have the chance to ruin yours, and it's not going to easily be passed by!" His face was red, and she could tell he had made him really angry. He threw the rope to a guard in a nearby tent. It was raining hard, and he was getting soaked. "Tie her feet up!" he barked. "And guard her!"

She breathed heavily, angry. The guard looked at her in trepidation, and she focused her gaze on him, who came closer with the rope, and finally into the tent. The rope was wet, then, but it was at the back of her mind. The guard began to tie her ankles, and she showed no sign of a struggle, knowing that it wouldn't do her any good. She hissed through her teeth, shutting her eyes from the pain her ankles were feeling from the wet rope, and knew that the pain wouldn't go away. The guard was quick about it, and stepped outside the tent, clearly preferring to be wet and cold to being in the tent with her. She lay down on the floor of the tent, breathing heavily from the pain she was feeling, and shutting her eyes. If he wanted her to suffer, fine. But she was _not_ going to give up. She would not die at the end of this journey-not because of Boq.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I don't have a very good excuse…I just wasn't looking much forward to writing it. Then, I had a brainstorm: I'll rush everything in this chapter and get her to the Emerald City! YAY! So yes, it's not a very good chapter, but she's finally there. : ) Kate: No, I didn't intend _that_ conflict, but it's a very good idea! I'll definitely use it, thank you! And thank you very much for the compliments, they were very nice! And you're right about the horses. ; ) Jemima: Yes, Fiyero gets turned into the scarecrow, Elphaba doesn't die, and Fiyero probably is the scarecrow that travels with them. In a review to me, GinaB posted this: http:libretto. It's a link to read the script. And I need to make Boq less evil! In the coming chapters, I'll attempt to make him nicer. Countrybutterfly: Whoa…I most certainly wouldn't have said that, but it means a lot to me that you did. Thank you _very_ much!

Damaran collapsed on the ground next to Fiyero. "I can't move." He informed him.

Fiyero looked at the boy, sprawled on the ground with his eyes closed. Fiyero was carrying the broom, and Damaran carrying the spear, and they both still had their bows and arrows. He nudged Damaran with his foot. "Get up," he told him half-heartedly.

"I can't…move."

Fiyero had to admit that taking a break sounded like a good idea. They had been walking for an entire day, and neither one of them had had a break. Both hadn't slept for a couple days. Fiyero sighed, and laid down next to Damaran. The tall grass continued for a long ways, and they had been walking in that. It was night then, and they knew that Elphaba and the guards were probably breaking then. But they could afford to-they were far ahead of Damaran and Fiyero, being on horses that could run much faster than the two could. Fiyero knew that they shouldn't stop, but he also knew that if they rested for five hours, maybe six, they could get their energy up and have much more strength to go after Elphaba. It would benefit them in the long run, he told himself, and within three minutes was asleep.

Six hours came and went, and by the time Fiyero woke up he judged at least eleven hours had passed by how groggy he was and the position of the sun. He sprang up, heart beating, and woke Damaran. Damaran squinted in the sunlight, and Fiyero quickly grabbed the broom. "Come on!" he yelled at Damaran. Damaran also got up quickly and took the spear. "We let too much time pass," Fiyero told Damaran, walking quickly. Damaran struggled to keep up. "They're probably way ahead of us now."

"I'm hungry."

Fiyero didn't say anything, but let them stop for five minutes to eat. After they had each had an apple, they started off again, walking a bit slower this time.

"We're never going to catch up, you know."

"You don't know that."

"They have _horses_, Fiyero. Unless we never stop, we're not catching up."

Fiyero didn't answer him.

…

Three days had passed since the rainstorm, and Elphaba's legs and wrists were still tied, and Boq was still angry at her for knowing who he was. She didn't ride with him, anymore, he let the other soldiers work out who would ride with her. They stuck the youngest with her, as nobody else could be forced to do it. The youngest was named Oveel, and he couldn't have been more than two years younger than she. He was frightened to death of her, and never said a word when in her presence. She had grown used to the pain the ropes caused her, though it hurt like hell. She hadn't once seen Fiyero, and thought he had probably given up. That was okay though-he'd stay safe that way.

Boq whistled in the front, but she kept staring dully at the ground. She'd nearly given up.

There were whistles and claps all around, and Oveel did the same behind her. "Look," he whispered, nudging her. Surprised, as that had been the first time he had addressed her, she looked up.

The Emerald City was in sight.

She fought the urge to scream and start writhing in the ropes grasp, and just stared, frightened. Even from the far off distance you could see several buildings, and, of course, the Wizard's palace in the middle. "We probably have a day and a half's journey ahead of us," Boq told them all, smiling. Wide-eyed, she stared at him, and he could tell the fear in her eyes. His smile disappeared, and he looked away quickly. She also looked down, and Oveel flicked the reins once so that the horse would follow the others. She took a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" Oveel asked her, only loud enough for her to hear.

Once again, Elphaba was surprised. She was a little bit wary-kindness wasn't something she was accustomed to, and she wasn't sure if he was joking with her or not. "Yes," she whispered, lying.

Oveel didn't say anything behind her, and that was the last they spoke that day.

…

"We should be in the Emerald City by midnight tonight, if we press hard," Boq told them the next morning. Elphaba was loaded onto the horse in front of Oveel, and she tensed. Oveel and Elphaba, being the last in the group, waited for everyone else to start moving, then followed.

Elphaba half-expected Oveel to speak to her that day, but he didn't. He was gentle with her, though, as if he didn't really want to be mean to her. As the Emerald City grew nearer, her heart beat faster and her breaths grew closer together. She was scared...of her former best friend. Glinda was an influential person, and though she thought that they had made up, clearly they hadn't, and she would be put to death. If Glinda was still mad at Elphaba, she was probably still mad at Fiyero, also, so if Fiyero showed his face in the Emerald City, then he would be put to death, also. She shut her eyes, tightly, and opened them again. All of that day, she grew more and more desperate…she had to try something, but then, she couldn't. She had a fleeting moment where she imagined taking control of the reins and turning the horse around, but then dismissed it, as her arms were still behind her and they would catch up to her anyway. There was absolutely nothing that she could do…not without Fiyero, at least. She sighed, and waited for them to reach the Emerald City.

…

Boq was right. They reached the Emerald City by about midnight, when the usually active city was quiet. Elphaba was glad, at least, that not everyone in Oz would be there to witness her being brought in with ropes around her. Boq gathered them to listen to him. Elphaba's head hung low, not wanting to see any of them.

"You all have performed a necessary task to Oz, and Glinda the Good thanks you. Congratulations on a job well done." The soldiers, tired but still happy, said their goodbyes to each other briefly and took their horses back to their homes. Elphaba was lost in her own head as Boq assigned a few to take the horses with supplies back to Oz's stables, and Oveel stayed on his horse with Elphaba, not sure of where to go. Boq slipped off his horse and motioned for Oveel to hand Elphaba over to him. Oveel did, and Boq took a knife out of a holder on his belt. She took a short breath in, thinking that he would kill her right there, but he bent down and sliced the ropes on her ankles. Without thinking, she lunged away from him, about to run, but he grabbed her firmly by the arms. Oveel quickly got down off of the horse, also, and held on to her. She pursed her lips and looked away, not trying to get away anymore. Boq kept holding onto her right arm, and Oveel held on to her left, and they walked her over to where the jail cells were. They were in a building with no guards in front of it, as there wasn't anyone in there yet, and there was no door. Elphaba paused for a moment when they got to the entrance, but they kept her going. She felt doomed and nervous as they walked her down the hall of the dark building with no floor, past about five cells, then turned the corner. Boq let go of her arm, and Oveel held loosely on to her, as Boq took keys out of his pocket. He must have been waiting for this moment, Elphaba thought. He unlocked the door of a cell and opened it, turning back to Elphaba. Oveel held on to both of her arms and turned her towards him, as Boq sliced the rope holding her arms. He took Elphaba and shoved her into the cell. She stumbled in, and Boq threw the door closed, and turned the key inside of it. Oveel grimaced sympathetically, and Boq looked kind of…sad. She looked back at them, and watched through the bars as they turned and walked away, walked out of the building.

She looked around at her surroundings. The walls behind and to either side of her seemed to be made of plaster, and the door/gate to the cell had thick iron strips that ran down half a foot apart from each other, and then strips ran across those horizontally half a foot apart from each other. It was nearly pitch black, but a window at the very top of the cell-not really a window, more of a hole with two thick bars running through it-let in some moonlight. The cell was about six feet wide and six feet long, and probably no more than seven feet tall. There was a bucket in the corner, and hay strewn around on the dirt-packed ground. She let a sob escape from her lips, though no tears came. Slowly, she sank down to the ground and curled herself tightly into a ball in the middle of the cell, letting her hair drape over her face. She closed her eyes. She would sleep very little that night.

…

Four days after Damaran and Fiyero took their eleven hour nap, the two caught their breath in their throat. The Emerald City was not far off. They knew that Elphaba and the guards had probably already reached it, and they judged they could get there within a day. Fiyero smiled to Damaran. "We're almost there," he said. Damaran smiled, also.

"Do we have a plan?"

"No."

They smiled at each other, still. They would work something out. Determinedly, they walked faster, knowing that they could get there soon.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A/N: I couldn't wait to write this chapter, so I decided not to. : ) It's definitely my favorite chapter so far, I've been writing this one in my head since the very beginning. I hope you guys like it! Thank you, Kate, Viva-taquitos, and Lone Dark Wolf for the reviews! Countrybutterfly: I think you might want to make sure you _are _reviewing to the right story, LOL. You're waaaay too sweet, you're spoiling me: ) Jemima: You spoil me too! Thank you very much for your compliment, I know it was exaggerated, but it was sweet. And I apologize if I seemed short with you last chapter, I was kind of in a rush to write the author's note (I write them last). I hope you all enjoy this chapter! The beginning's lame, by the way, and I don't really think Elphaba's in character, but it gets better. Oh yes, and there's one bad word.

Elphaba was awakened early the next morning by the light coming in through the window at her cell. She opened her eyes, forgetting where she was for a moment, then remembered, the thought of it all hitting her like a brick. She stood up. It was cold, and she tightened her cape around herself. She walked over to the wall, and pulled herself up to the window to look out. It was dawn, and the light glowed pink over the green city. It was a beautiful sight-the buildings all shimmering with dew drops, and the Wizard's palace almost right next to the jail. The beauty was lost on her, though, and she dropped down from the window. She stood in the center of her cell with her arms crossed, not sure exactly what was going to happen that day. Would she be killed that very morning? She doubted it-they'd probably want to make a spectacle of her execution, and they wouldn't have enough time to inform everyone in Oz that she was there.

She sat cross-legged with her back against the wall and closed her eyes. She wasn't tired, really-just thinking. She hoped Fiyero hadn't followed her. It was too late for him to do anything for her, and if Glinda saw him…she didn't want to think about it. She sighed. She was furious at Glinda. She opened her eyes, and tried to concentrate the fury on the bars. Perhaps, they would disappear if she got angry enough? Nothing happened, though, and she sighed again. She stood up and kicked the wall. She felt better.

She turned swiftly around, hearing footsteps. She tensed, heart beating swiftly, and watched the corner at the end of the hallway. They were coming past the cells…and then they turned, and she saw that it was Oveel. She relaxed some, but stayed where she was, still tense, watching him.

Oveel was carrying a small tray with four pieces of bread and a cup. He bent down and slid it under the bars, then looked up at Elphaba, who was watching him. He smiled, though it looked uncomfortable.

"Hi." He said awkwardly, straightening up.

She stared at him, expressionlessly through the bars. He stared back for a moment, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there, then turned stiffly to leave.

"Wait," she called softly. He turned around quickly, and she swallowed, not wanting to say anything but having to. "Do you know what's going to happen today?"

He opened his mouth slightly, then closed it. "No, not really." He admitted. "Glinda the Good wants to see you, I think, but nobody else knows you're here-except, of course, for the rest of the guards."

She nodded, and looked back at him. Looking uncomfortable again, he waited a moment, then left the way he had come.

Elphaba waited until she could no longer hear footsteps, then walked over to the tray he had set out for her. The cup had water in it. She got a little bit angrier at Glinda, if it was possible. She didn't just want to ruin my life-she had to torture me just that little bit more, she thought. She was thirsty, of course, but had to ignore the cup. She quickly devoured the bread, and then moved the tray to the side. It was light by then, and she could start to hear noise as the city woke up. She straightened and moved to the wall underneath the window, not wanting anyone to see her. She pulled her knees to her chin and sat there, for how long she didn't know, listening to the city noise grow louder and louder.

…

"She's here!" Glinda squealed. Boq looked at her strangely after delivering the news the morning after bring Elphaba back to Oz.

"Yes…she's in a cell in the jail next door."

Glinda opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, remembering she never had given instructions of where to put Elphie after bringing her back-and after all, she was a fugitive, it only made sense that Boq had thought to put her there. She winced, though, thinking of her best friend behind bars.

"All right. I'll need to speak with her soon. Call up two attendants for me, if you will, please, for tonight. After it gets dark, so nobody will be out."

Boq nodded, bowed slightly, and went out the door to her room.

Glinda grinned widely, unable to contain her excitement. She couldn't wait to see Elphie again! And she really _was_ alive! She had known it, she had just known it! She squealed again, excited.

There was a knock on the door that night as two large men came in. They were each holding spears. She stared at the spears for a moment, and one of the men explained, "In case of the Witch." She nodded slowly, not sure what that meant, and looked seriously at them.

"I would like to be accompanied to the Witch's cell," she told them, hiding the excitement in her voice. They nodded, knowing what they were there for, and she led them out of the palace and to the homely jail to the right.

…

There was a tired-looking guard at the entrance to the jail, and he straightened and bowed as she passed. She kept staring ahead, wanting to run to Elphie but knowing she couldn't. The guards followed her as she walked past each cell, looking in them to see which one Elphie was in. She turned a corner and saw, two cells down on her left, a creature quickly stand up. She had to force a smile from creeping up on her face when she saw that, knowing it was Elphie, and stood in front of the cell, facing her. She turned around, to the guards. "I should like a few minutes alone with the Witch," she told them severely, and though they hesitated a moment, they walked down the hall out of the jail cell, carrying their spears.

When Glinda could no longer hear footsteps, she turned around to Elphaba, smiling huge. "Elphie!" she breathed excitedly. She ran to the bars and stretched her arms out towards Elphaba, clearly expecting a hug. "Oh, Elphie, I thought you were dead! I thought they had killed you! I missed you so much!"

She stared at Elphie, smiling. Elphaba wasn't smiling, and stood in the middle of the cell. The moonlight showed from behind her, and her green skin gave off an alarming glow that made her look frightening. Elphaba shook her head slowly, almost in disbelief, and Glinda stupidly pulled her arms back, realizing that she wasn't going to get a hug.

"I can't believe you," Elphaba said quietly. She began to pace very slowly, only able to go a few steps because of the width of her cell. The look in her eyes was murderous, and she looked to Glinda like a caged lion, ready to pounce on whatever it could. "You took me from my home, from my friend, from my lover, and put me in this _cage_-" Elphaba thrust her arms out furiously at that – "and you think it's all _okay_?"

Glinda looked at her, confused at the reception she was receiving. "Well, it couldn't have been all that bad-"

"Oh, it couldn't!" Elphaba was no longer pacing slowly, but quickly, angrier, andher voice was getting louder."Because it's not like I care about anything in the world besides _you_, Glinda! And it's not like the man who hates me probably more than anyone in this entire world would treat me poorly!"

"He treated you poorly?"

"No, Glinda, of course not! And these –" Elphaba marched up to the bars, pulling up her sleeve – "aren't rope burns at all!"

Glinda stared at the green wrist that Elphaba displayed in horror. It was raw and red, and clearly hurt a lot. Elphaba took her wrist back and backed up again. Glinda shook her head, staring wide-eyed at Elphaba. "Elphie, I'm so sorry – "

"Yes, well, you should be."

"It's just…I care about you so much, I wanted to see you – "

"Oh!" Elphaba shouted, the echo of her voice ringing through the jail. "And now you care about me! Oh, Glinda, this is rich." Her voice was filled with hate, and Glinda could hear the fast-walking steps of the guards, who had probably heard Elphaba scream and gotten nervous. Elphaba walked up to the bars and pulled Glinda by her dress to the bars also, so that they were only probably an inch from each other's face, though the bars separated them. Their faces wore two completely different masks: Elphaba's, fury and hate, and Glinda's, sorrow and fear. "You don't give a _fuck_ about me."

The two guards ran to Glinda's side, jabbing Elphaba back with the spears. Elphaba let go of Glinda quickly, and stepped back a few steps, clutching her left shoulder briefly. The guards each firmly grabbed Glinda by her arms and hustled her away. Glinda looked back, fearfully, at the figure in the cell. Elphaba stood quietly, arms to her sides, and the look in her eyes was murderous. The memory of her staring out at her from behind the bars would haunt Glinda's nightmares that night.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

A/N: I got a mixed reaction to my last chapter, I see! LOL that's all right, though, I'm glad to see some negativity. Sawyerzelda: I _was _actually wondering where you were! LOL yes…I can't just tell you what's going to happen, though! You'll see soon… whogirl: I was wondering where you were, too! –that's not meant as a criticism or anything, by the way- thank you very much for the compliments, I'm very glad you liked it! Countrybuttefly: Creeped out in a good way, or a bad way? Either way is good, just wondering. I was a tad confused by your last statement…cast-contraception and all that. Sorry, I'm just a tad stupid, though…thanks for reviewing! Skellum: Thank you! "IMUSTKILLGLINDA PHASE"…haha good stuff, made me laugh. : ) FrederickCharleston: Hunky dory is, like, the coolest phrase ever! Anyway, yes, I want things to be hunky dory also, so fret not! Hopefully…soon…yes. Kate: Yes, I didn't want to make Elphaba swear…but I didn't know how better to express that. Actually, you're right, it's out of character for her, but I didn't want to make her swear because it's musicalverse, and the musical is very clean. LOL oh well…glad you liked the chapter, though. Silvermoonset: LOL don't worry about it! It's all right, I understand, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't abandoned me! Glad to see you're still reading. : ) And hooray for Oveel's name! I actually don't like it very much, but it took me awhile to decide on one for him. Now on with the show! It's a pretty short one this time.

Elphaba slept well into the next morning, having not had a full night's rest in a long time. She sat up, and saw that Oveel had already brought her a new tray of food. It was odd listening to the people outside of her cell, as they were not ten feet from her, but none of them knew she was in there. She stood and went to the food. It was the same as the day before: bread and water. She ate the bread, and stared at the water. She hadn't had anything to drink in days…would it hurt her _that_ much to drink it? She put it aside. The answer, she knew, was yes, and she'd have to swallow her pride and ask Oveel to please tell Glinda to send her something she could actually drink. She sighed, and retreated back to the back wall. She sat with her back pressed against it, thinking about Fiyero. She knew that if he was still following them, he should be there by then…or at least soon. And if he wasn't following them, fine. She could only help herself at that point anyway. Which she needed to find out how to do…Glinda was a liar, she didn't care about Elphaba at all. Glinda wasn't going to let her go, and she needed to find some way to get out.

…

Glinda sat miserably at her desk, replaying her and Elphie's reunion. She supposed she could understand where the anger was coming from. But she hadn't meant to hurt her! She had told Boq to be nice to her…she put her head in her hands. She hadn't thought things all the way through, she guessed. She had no idea what to do with Elphie now. She couldn't leave her there…but she couldn't just let her out. She had the rest of Oz to worry about. Not only would they be scared for their lives, but they would probably try to kill her. And she wasn't going to let Elphie go back to living her old life. In one way, that was selfish, but she was also looking out for her best friend. That was no way to live a life, she decided. She had done the right thing by bringing her there, and soon Elphie would realize that. She hoped.

But then, she didn't know…she heard Elphie's voice saying, _"You took me from my home, from my friend, from my lover…"_ How quickly Elphie had forgotten about Fiyero! She observed silently. She felt a rush of anger at Elphie for stealing Fiyero from her so long ago, which surprised her. She wasn't mad at her, she had already forgiven her, she reminded herself. She sighed and sat back. She should try again tonight to talk to her, she decided. Without attendants. The thought frightened her for a moment, but she chastised herself for it. There was no reason to be afraid of Elphie…if she stood out of reach.

…

Elphaba put her head against the wall, bored. It was now late afternoon, and there was nothing for her to do, of course. She tightened her cape around her, though she wasn't cold. She swallowed, then tried to think of anything but how thirsty she was…or her wrists and ankles that hurt…or Fiyero…she closed her eyes briefly, sick of feeling sorry for herself. She tried to listen to the conversations of the citizens from Oz outside, but they were all a jumble. She sighed. At least back at Kiamo Ko, she had somebody to talk to…she winced, reminding herself not to think about that. But then she let her thoughts drift to Fiyero…and Damaran. She didn't want to think of either one, but especially not Damaran. She moved away from the wall and laid down on her back, facing the wall, with her arms behind her head. The image of Damaran falling down in the grass played in her head suddenly and she shut her eyes tightly from the image, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, hating herself. She knew that without her, Damaran would still be alive. And Nessa…

"No," she whispered to herself. She wasn't going to let herself think about her sister any longer. It was done, it was over. The same went for Damaran, she told herself. She had killed herself already, it was time to move on from it all.

…

Elphaba had gotten a lot of sleep the night before, and it was either very late at night or very early in the morning when she heard short, quick footsteps coming from down the hall that nobody had used before when coming to talk to her, at least. She was sitting with her knees drawn up, facing the wall, and she didn't turn around, guessing it was Glinda. She heard a voice from behind her, and her suspicions were confirmed.

"Hi Elphie," Glinda said timidly.

Elphaba didn't say anything, and heard Glinda clear her throat. "I wanted to see you…how you were doing."

Elphaba still didn't say anything, and didn't turn around.

"I didn't know…that Boq would…would treat you badly…I'm going to talk to him, you know."

Elphaba began to say something, but had to swallow and cough…her throat was too dry. "Just talk?" she said condescendingly, still facing the wall. "Are you aware of the entirety of what he did?"

Glinda paused a moment, and then, in dread, asked, "What did he do?"

"He let one of his guards kill Damaran. And he was just a boy! He was fifteen years old."

Elphaba heard Glinda gasp slightly. "I told him not to kill anyone…Elphie, I didn't know, I swear…tell me what happened."

"He tried stupidly to save me, I think it was the second day after Boq and his wonderful guard doused me with water and captured me. We were walking, and he tried to shoot them. Didn't manage to kill anybody, but they managed to kill him. I got tied up after that, in case you're interested."

Elphaba took pleasure in Glinda not speaking for a few moments. "I'm sorry, Elphie."

"You can call me Elphaba."

Elphaba almost felt bad after that statement, but didn't.

"Elphaba, then…" Glinda sounded very hurt, and also a tad angry. She was still making an attempt at false niceness, though. "I do care about you, and there was a reason for all of this, you need to understand that, things will be better for you – "

"Please, Glinda, you care about no one but yourself."

Glinda didn't say anything, but Elphaba heard a pause, then a rustle of skirts and a small _clink_ of metal. "Here," Glinda said coldly to Elphaba's back. "I brought you some milk."

Elphaba turned around swiftly, puzzled, just to watch Glinda walk quickly away.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

"Oveel?" Elphaba asked him. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, looking at him. It was early the next morning, and Oveel was at Elphaba's cell trading the trays. He looked at her, warily.

"Yes?"

"Will you do me a favor?"

He straightened and nodded, though hesitantly. "Maybe," he said.

She stood also, and swallowed her pride. "Will you tell Glinda thank you? …from Elphie?"

He looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything about it. "All right," he agreed.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been sure if he would do it, her being the Wicked Witch of the West and all. She nodded. "Thank you," she told him seriously.

He smiled at her, though he looked uncomfortable doing so. She didn't smile back, she knew it would only make him more uncomfortable, and turned around. He walked away.

She was grateful for that…she knew him being nice to her would be frowned upon. She walked to her tray and was a little disappointed. More water. That didn't mean, of course, that Glinda was going to stop giving her anything to drink…maybe Glinda didn't even prepare her food. That was probably it, Elphaba reasoned as she sat down to eat her small meal. After all, Glinda would give her more than just bread, anyway. And she would have given her milk, or tea, or something besides water from the start. Surely, Glinda had more important things to do than prepare her prisoners' meals.

She knew Glinda was mad at her. She had been being a tad difficult…Elphaba felt it was justified, but she could have made more of an effort with Glinda. But she started it, Elphaba sulked. She wouldn't be throwing insults Glinda's way if she wasn't in a jail cell. But she realized, finally, that Glinda really did care about her…she had an odd way of showing it, but she did.

…

Oveel looked around at the few people milling around the Emerald City. It was early, still. He supposed he could leave his guard at the entrance to the jail for a few minutes.

But to do a favor for the Wicked Witch of the West? He knew that wouldn't be excused. It was to tell Glinda something, though…but he thought that the Witch was maybe a little mad. Tell Glinda that Elphie says thank you? Who was Elphie? Was she Elphie? He knew he had heard, once, that her name had been Elphaba…Elphie seemed like some sort of nickname, he guessed. But what was she saying thank you to Glinda for? He had seen Glinda go in once, with attendants, had she said something to the Witch while she was in there? He shook his head, deciding not to try to figure it out. Without thinking too much more about it, he began to walk over to the Good Witch's palace.

When he got to the large, green doors, there were two men outside guarding them. He knew them, though - after all, he did work with them. They smiled at him.

"I need to speak with Glinda the Good Witch," he informed them. They both opened a door, and he walked inside.

He had never been inside of the Emerald City palace. It was a huge room, with many people inside. He was told by his friend to "ring for a maid; they'll tell Glinda you're here". He saw the bell system and rang a small bell, that went to one of the maid's rooms.

He had to wait only a few minutes for a young girl he knew to come down the grand stairs. Her name was Lillany - she had light brown hair, pale skin, and freckles, and she was beautiful. She blushed when she saw him.

"Hello," she said shyly. "Are you here to see Miss Glinda?"

He nodded. "I need to speak with her," and remembering his abandoned guard, "and quickly, if you don't mind."

She nodded, and motioned for him to follow her. He was led into a waiting room, it seemed, it was quiet and had a couch and a few armchairs. "You can sit where you'd like," she told him. "I'll get Miss Glinda."

He saw in the chair, leaving the couch for Miss Glinda. He was actually surprised at the ease he was able to see her with – though he guessed she wasn't as famous as the Wizard, and it probably had something to do with the guards and maids all knowing him.

A few minutes later, Glinda came into the room, followed by Lillany, though she remembered quickly that she wasn't allowed to be in there and exited, closing the door behind her. Oveel stood when Glinda came into the room. Glinda came in and sat on the couch, and he sat in the chair after her.

She smiled pleasantly, and waited for him to speak.

He cleared his throat. "Um, the Wicked Witch of the West sent a message with me."

Her eyes grew indifferent, but her smile stayed. "And what was it?"

"She says thank you. No, she said to say that Elphie says thank you. I apologize if I shouldn't have done this…" he trailed off, realizing he was an idiot for delivering the message. Nobody could know that he was being nice to the Witch.

He was wrong, though. Her eyes got big, and her smile got real. "She said Elphie?" she squealed excitedly.

He nodded, glad to see he wasn't going to get reprimanded. "Yes, she did."

She breathed a happy sigh. "Well, thank you very much Oveel, I appreciate this."

He smiled, and stood, and she did the same. He walked out of the room and into the throng of people. What they were doing, he didn't know. He looked around, hoping to maybe say goodbye to Lillany, but did not see her. He went out the doors, and back to his guard on the jail.

Thinking about it, he realized he should have gotten into some sort of trouble. And why was Glinda so happy about a message from the Witch? Or, rather, Elphie? He knew there had to be something going on that he wasn't supposed to be aware of. He walked into the jail and to the Witch's cell, deciding it would be nice at least to tell her of Glinda's reaction.

…

Elphaba lay on the dirt floor, watching the ceiling and counting by two's quietly to herself. "Two thousand forty eight, two thousand fifty…"

She heard footsteps and sat up expectantly. Footsteps always meant her boredom would be relieved for at least a few minutes.

As usual, it was Oveel. She got to her feet and waited by the bars, watching him. He came to the bars and leaned against them. She was a little surprised by how unafraid he was of her, but pushed it out of her mind. "So? Did you tell her?" she asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

He nodded. "Yeah…she seemed excited…especially that you said it was from Elphie."

She looked down, smiling slightly to herself.

"Who's Elphie?"

She looked up in surprise and shook her head, not saying anything.

He took the hint. He was curious, but, it was none of his business.

He nodded, and put his hand up in farewell. He turned around to walk out.

She smiled as she watched him go. It was hard to thank Glinda…especially when she was so angry at her, but she could thank her for doing her that one favor. She didn't want to be angry at Glinda, anyway.

…

Elphaba heard the footsteps when it got dark that night, as usual. Everything echoed, even against the dirt, in the building she was in. She stood in anticipation.

They were coming from where Glinda had come from the day before…and yes, it was Glinda. She was carrying another glass, which Elphaba was grateful for. She was still thirsty. When Glinda reached the bars she handed the glass to Elphaba. "Tea today," she said quietly.

Elphaba took it and drank from it, then set it on the ground. They stared at each other silently for a moment.

"I really am sorry," Glinda told her softly.

Elphaba nodded. "I know," she said. Glinda reached her hand out, and Elphaba clasped it. They smiled at one another.

"I did miss you, you know," Elphaba said.

"I missed you too!" Glinda told her.

Elphaba jumped all of the sudden and dropped Glinda's hand. Glinda furrowed her eyebrows at her, and then realized: Elphaba had heard footsteps. They both stared tensely at the coming footsteps, the same way that Glinda had come from. There were two sets, and then Elphaba saw them: Fiyero…_and _Damaran.

The four all gasped when they saw each other, each surprised to see at least one other person, and Fiyero and Damaran stayed where they were, warily watching Glinda, eyes wide. Not a word was spoken for nearly five seconds until Elphaba managed to gasp out, "Damaran!"

Fiyero and Damaran seemed to register Elphaba for the first time, and both of their faces broke into grins. Elphaba's did too, though it was an unbelieving one. Glinda did not smile, though. Her eyes filled with tears, as she remembered the love she had had stolen from her. It had been okay when she had presumed Fiyero to be _dead_…Elphaba had said he was dead, also! What was wrong with her!

Glinda stared at her friend accusingly, and Elphaba shook her head. "No, Glinda, you have to understand…"

Glinda turned around, though, and walked quickly the way she had come, feeling completely betrayed.

Elphaba watched Glinda go regretfully,then turned her attention towards Fiyero and Damaran. They both ran to her, and she ran to the bars. She clutched the bars, and smiled widely at both of them, happy to see them. No, it was more than happy, she decided.

"Damaran!" she exclaimed, though quietly still. "I thought…how come you're alive?"

He smiled at her. "The arrow they had? It didn't work. It wasn't sharp enough. Are you okay, though? Did they hurt you?"

She smiled, lying. "I'm fine, I'm fine. They didn't hurt me…" She turned to Fiyero, and the two wordlessly sank to the ground in front of each other, and he took her hand and held it. He shivered. It was ice.

"I'm so sorry…that we didn't succeed…that we couldn't save you," he told her.

She shook her head quickly. "No, no, you tried, it's not your fault," she said. He rubbed her wrist, and she jumped back involuntarily. "Sorry," she whispered. He looked at where he had rubbed, and saw how raw it was…it had been where she had been tied with the rope.

"Oh, Oz, I'm sorry…" he said stupidly. "I didn't know…I'm sorry they hurt you, I'm sorry for everything…"

She was shaking her head. "No," she told him. "No." She looked behind her, out the window, and turned back to him, hating the words she was about to say. "You should probably go…I don't know if Glinda told anyone that you were here…I don't want you to be captured, too."

Fiyero nodded regretfully, and looked at Damaran, who had been awkwardly watching them. "Yeah, we should probably leave," he said to Damaran.

He let go of Elphaba's hand, and the two stood up. He pulled her face towards him and kissed her through the bars, which she returned gratefully. She stood, clutching the bars as they left, wishing with all of her might she could go with them.

A/N: All right, corny enough for you? Gosh, I do not like this chapter. Way too sappy. But anyways…eleven reviews last chapter! I haven't gotten so many on a chapter before! It was rather exciting…

Piney: LOL yes, I made this chapter a bit longer…longest chapter so far, anyway. I mentioned that Glinda didn't know what to do with Elphaba…she couldn't just leave her there (or something like that). Basically, just imagine me as Glinda: I don't know what to do with her…I can't just leave her there…LOL I think I kind of know what to do with her, but for a few chapters at least, she's staying where she is.

Animes18: LOL glad you like it! Don't worry, Damaran's not dead!

Bubblesnbrooms: You caught on! Due to lack of inspiration, I was not writing about Fiyero and Damaran, but I suppose I had to. Oh well, it was easy this time, I didn't actually explain anything…

FrederickCharleston: No, everyone just thinks he died. He's still alive!

Countrybuttefly: Yes, I agree, my last chapter wasn't very good. Oh, broken hand! I'm sorry. That sucks.

Gabsgrl: You're right, so I resolved everything, and then unresolved and made it very sappy. Sap, sap, sapping up the works.

PoetryOutLoud: LOL well thank you! Hooray for beingdark!

Kate: I always do (enjoy your writings)! Thank you very much!

Jemima: LOL well as of now, I feel incapable of writing if I don't make you feel sorry for at least someone. I don't want to do that, but that's the way it seems to be going…why must I make all of my characters feel angst! Ehh…

TheAngelfMusic: (Love your name, by the way! I finally get to see the movie this week! So excited!) I'm glad you like my story! To pieces! Very fun…

Whogirl: Thank you very much! Glad (and surprised) it's still holding your interest!


	18. Chapter Eighteen

"_You won't be seeing his face any longer."_

Glinda had finished crying all of the tears she had in her, and was furiously replaying the words Elphie had told her about Fiyero right before she had "died".

"_You won't be seeing his face any longer."_

How could she! How could she have _lied_ like that! Was it to keep her from going after Fiyero? Had Fiyero even been aware that Elphie had told her that? Glinda couldn't believe her. It was the morning after she had brought Elphie tea, and the night before Glinda had cried herself to sleep. She had known that she was never over Fiyero…but she had forgotten it all when warning Elphie that the guards were coming for her. And when she had thought he had died, of course, she had nearly forgotten him…but she would always love him. He had been hers, and then Elphie stole him from her! Glinda sat up in her bed, again feeling the fury she had felt not half a year ago. She coughed, and closed her eyes tightly, again seeing the two men coming towards her. Fiyero and…Damaran, Elphie had said. Glinda's eyes widened, remembering one other thing Elphie had said.

"_He let one of his guards kill Damaran. And he was just a boy! He was fifteen years old."_

But that had been Damaran! Glinda's eyes narrowed, seething. She had lied about both men being dead. She couldn't believe it. Why did she say the boy was dead? To get Boq into more trouble than he already was? Did she want the guard who had supposedly killed him to be sentenced to death? Glinda sat back as that thought struck her. Was…was Elphie really wicked? She shook her head, telling herself the answer was no. It had been a lie, it had all been a lie. Elphie wasn't wicked, she just wanted the Animals to have equal rights. Madame Morrible and the Wizard had lied to all of Oz, and she wasn't going to let herself believe that the lie was true. No, Elphie wasn't really wicked…so why did she lie about the boy? And Fiyero? She let out an angry whimper. She had no idea what to do with Elphie…and Damaran and Fiyero. She could let them go…but then all of that would have been in vain. She knew that the guards who knew about it would be furious with her…no, she couldn't just let her go. She would decide when she wasn't so caught up in her anger.

…

Elphaba paced in her cell, hoping that Glinda would come by again that night. She had a lot to apologize for…she knew that it was Glinda who was mostly at fault, but she had already apologized, and Elphaba knew that soon she would fix things. Well, she would have. She didn't know _what_ was going to happen anymore. She sighed and flopped herself down on the ground. Oveel had already been by while she had slept that morning, and had actually been inside her cell, taking out whatever needed to be and replacing it. The tray had been out of reach. She was slightly angry with herself that she hadn't been awake for that, so she could have escaped…but Oveel wasn't stupid. He wouldn't have let her get out.

She stared up at the ceiling, and thought about Fiyero and Damaran. He was alive! She thought, happily. She was relieved, also – she didn't want another death to be responsible for. She wondered where they were staying. She hadn't asked; she didn't want to know. If Glinda was angrier than Elphaba thought she was, she would want to know where Fiyero was…for whatever reason, and Elphaba didn't want to be able to have it tortured out of her. She sat up, shocked at the thought she had just had. Glinda would _not_ torture her, she knew that. She didn't care how angry Glinda was at her, she would never torture her.

Her mind wandered. She didn't know that Glinda wouldn't have her tortured. After all, she had had her sister killed to capture her. Elphaba's heart pounded. She had always known this about her best friend, but she had never thought about it while she was captured. She crossed her legs and put her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands. Was she actually in danger? Under Boq's supervision, on the way down to the Emerald City, she had been certain she was going to be executed. After the first meeting with Glinda, she was certain she wasn't going to be. Now, she had no idea what to think. She put her head back and groaned. Life was rather complicated.

…

Damaran sighed. "I'm bored."

"That seems to be your trademark phrase."

"You _bore_ me."

"I'm sorry," Fiyero told him casually. The two were on the outskirts of the city, in the woods. It was nearly dusk, and they were getting ready to meet Elphaba for the second time. Fiyero was going to bring her broom this time – he wasn't sure, but maybe she could use it to her advantage, even in the cell. He shuddered, thinking of her behind bars. He had hated leaving without her. And Glinda…he sighed, not wanting to be on bad terms with her. He hoped their appearance didn't make things worse for Elphaba…though he guessed they probably had. It would probably be a good idea to stay away for awhile...but he couldn't. He had to see her again, had to talk to her again. He thought that it would probably be good for Elphaba's spirits anyway; he knew they had to be suffering. He knew there was a possibility that she wouldn't even be there when they went…that thought was too horrible to think about, though, so he didn't.

Damaran stood up. "Can we go now?" he asked Fiyero.

Fiyero looked up at him. "No, there's still people out."

Damaran sighed and sat down again. The two waited longer.

…

"I need to speak with Boq." Glinda paused, realizing for the first time she didn't know his last name. "He was the captain of the guard on the last…excursion. He lives in the Emerald City…I don't know, just find him!" Glinda was in her waiting room, the one she used to speak with guests. Her maid bowed her head and scurried from the room.

Glinda was finally speaking with Boq about the way he had treated Elphaba. She had decided to put her personal feelings for her aside for the moment and remember that she had promised Elphie that she would speak to Boq; and she would. He wasn't supposed to have hurt her.

Boq was ushered into the room not thirty minutes later. He, apparently, lived close by. The maid shut the door, and Boq smiled tentatively at her. "Hello, Miss Glinda," he said quietly. "You needed to speak with me?"

Glinda nodded severely. "Sit," she motioned to Boq. She waited until he was seated and then sat across from him on the couch. "I need to speak with you about the way you treated Elph – the Witch," she told him.

Boq cocked his head. "All right?"

"You were not to harm her. She wasn't supposed to be tied up, and you certainly weren't supposed to throw water on her!"

Boq slowly shook his head. "But, Miss Glinda –"

"No. I told you not to."

Boq shook his head again. "No…you didn't."

Glinda looked at him, confused.

"You only said that she wasn't to be killed…" he trailed off, speaking timidly.

Her eyes widened, and she gasped slightly. He was right, of course. She leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. Boq watched her awkwardly. "Are you all right?" he asked after a pause.

She nodded, face still in her hands. She sat up again, angry with herself, with Elphaba, with Fiyero…but no longer at Boq. It wasn't his fault. It was hers.

"Why were you so mean to her?" she asked quietly. "I didn't tell you to be mean to her."

He shook his head quickly, and stood up. "That's…because she's the Witch. She's the Wicked Witch of the West, and she deserved it," he finished, somewhat lamely.

She nodded, though. She bought it. Everyone hated Elphie, she supposed she could understand that he would, also. "All right," she accepted. She stood up, also, and shook his hand. He looked at her for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. He smiled regretfully at her and went out the door.

She followed, after a few moments. She had done her duty. She had spoken to Boq. He wasn't going to be punished for anything, but she had never promised Elphie that. It wasn't often that Glinda went downstairs, and the people in the room all smiled at her and bowed in her direction. She waved and smiled, feeling like the Wizard, but didn't have time to think about it. She went up the stairs to her room, where she spent most of her time. Once she got there, she rang a bell on the system for a maid. A few minutes later, Lillany opened the door.

Glinda liked Lillany…she was a sweet girl, from the Uplands. Quiet and shy, she had originally been one of the Wizard's maids, but everyone working for the Wizard had been transferred under Glinda's command once she took reign. Glinda smiled at Lillany, who stared at her timidly. "Yes?" she asked.

"Lillany…you can keep a secret, correct?"

Lillany nodded, though she didn't look the same as most when about to receive a secret. Most would have their eyes widen, and get excited and earnest. Lillany just nodded, looking almost as if she didn't want to hear it. Glinda told her anyway.

"The Wicked Witch of the West is in a jail cell next to the palace. You, if you don't mind, are going to bring her some tea…I can't exactly request that whoever is fixing the prisoner's meals give her tea or milk, as they don't know it's her, and I don't want to raise any suspicion. She can't drink water, though, so she needs this to keep her alive. I can't bring it to her, though, I'm…not able to tonight. So when it gets dark, would you mind doing this for me?"

Lillany's large eyes were wide, now, and she nodded.

Glinda smiled at her again. "Just make sure you don't tell anybody, all right? I don't want to create a panic."

Lillany nodded again, and left quickly.

Glinda breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that the girl was probably scared, but she didn't want to have to see Elphie again. She was too angry at her. Besides, Elphie wouldn't actually hurt the girl...she was pretty sure.

…

Oveel sat, almost asleep at the entrance to the jail. It was dark outside, and almost time for him to go home. The jail was left unattended for most of the night. He didn't see Lillany until she was nearly ten feet from him.

He stood up, hurriedly, and tried to look involved. "Hello," he called out to her.

She looked terrified, and was holding a large glass. "Hello," she choked out.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, quickly. "Yes…I need to go…in there."

He shook his head. "You can't…I'm sorry…nobody's allowed."

She bit her lip, rearranging her hold on the hot glass. "I was…ordered to."

"By who? I mean, I don't doubt you, but…"

"Miss Glinda."

"Oh! So I guess you know?"

"What do you know?"

Oveel paused. "What do you know?"

They were both trying to keep the same secret from each other, and they realized it in the same instant. They laughed together, and Oveel paused in his laughter, listening to the crystal clear sound of hers. She stopped, also, and smiled at him tentatively. "I need to bring this to her," she said, holding the glass up. "Have you…seen her?"

She looked scared, and Oveel rushed to put her fears at ease. "Yes, I have, it's all right, she won't hurt you…well, she hasn't tried to hurt me, or anything like that."

She nodded, still looking a little timid.

"I'll go with you, if you like."

She smiled, and nodded. The two walked into the jail. It was dark, and Lillany let Oveel lead the way. They rounded a corner, and Lillany saw, in the cell with the only light from the moon, the Wicked Witch of the West. She gasped a bit, and stopped, but then seeing that Oveel continued, followed also. The Witch moved, and sat up, which frightened Lillany. Her heart was pounding, and she stood back a little as the green woman stood up. Oveel saw that Lillany was petrified, and took the glass from her, handing it to the Witch. Lillany had never seen the Witch up close, and it was odd to see her…her green hands closed around the cup and drank from it gratefully. Lillany had never seen the Witch up close, and it was odd…she couldn't have been more than four or five years older than she herself. The Witch handed the glass back to Oveel, who handed it to Lillany. Nobody said anything, and Oveel gently guided Lillany away from the Witch, who stared at them as they walked away.

…

Damaran and Fiyero walked in the second entrance to the jail…the one that wasn't guarded. It was late, and nobody was out, as usual. They stopped in front of Elphaba's cell. She was sleeping, and Fiyero almost didn't want to wake her up. He doubted she had gotten much sleep in the past few weeks. He did, though.

"Elphaba!" he hissed.

She bolted up and looked around confusedly, before her eyes settled on the two. Her face broke into a grin and she stood up to walk to the bars, then sat down again. Damaran and Fiyero did the same.

Fiyero was carrying her broom, and he held it up to her. "We carried this here, for you," he said. "We thought you might be able to use it…"

Elphaba's eyes narrowed at him quizzically, and her eyes darted a bit. "You carried my broom here."

"Yes."

She stared at him for a moment. "Why didn't you ride it?"

It was silent for a moment as Damaran and Fiyero stared at each other stupidly, and then Elphaba burst into laughter. Damaran and Fiyero laughed after a moment too, and the sound of the three's laughter echoed nicely. Elphaba regained control after a few moments, her stomach cramping from laughing so hard. She smiled at them, and managed to slide the broom through one of the holes that the bars made by crossing each other. She examined it, turning it over in her hands slowly. "I don't know how I can use this," she told them honestly. "With the door locked and the window having the bars on it, there's really no point in me having this."

"You should keep it, though. Hide it under the hay, or something. In case you do manage to escape, you're going to want this."

She nodded, and got up, crossing to the back of her cell. She crouched down and set the broom on the ground, fixing some hay so that it covered it. She could still see it, but she figured that was because she knew it was there. She went back to the bars and sat down again.

"Is Glinda treating you all right?" Fiyero asked her seriously.

Elphaba didn't answer him, just pointedly looked at the bars. He took the hint.

"Why can't you just like…get mad and get out?" Damaran asked her.

She looked down. "I don't know," she answered. "I don't understand…there was a point I was so mad at Glinda I thought I was going to _kill_ her with my anger, but nothing happened. When I thought you had died was actually the only time that I got mad enough for something to happen. Even then all that happened was that he was in pain."

Damaran nodded, and she yawned, then caught herself. Fiyero stood up, though. "We should go," he said to Elphaba. She stood up, too, and nodded, though he saw that she looked wistful. He clutched her hand for a moment, and then he and Damaran left. She was too tired to waste much time thinking about it, though, so she lay on the ground and fell asleep within five minutes.

A/N: I'm making longer chapters! Yea! So we had a little bit of original character development in this one…not very _good_ original character development, but it's there all the same!

SinfulPurgatory: I'm glad you like it!

PoetryOutLoud: Well, you guys are sweet enough to drop me a note each chapter, I think it's the least I can do to do the same, right? Thank you for your review!

Silvermoonset: Yes, last chapter was too sappy, I didn't like it much. This one has less of it, I think, which is good. Yeah, my original characters are very…shallow, in that they don't have well-developed personalities. I'm kind of picking out a trait for each one of them and running with it, LOL.

Jemima: Well, I'm glad you did like the sappiness of the last chapter! Even though I didn't like it much, it's good somebody did!

Countrybutterfly: Yeah, the ending was definitely the worst part of the last chapter. Your favorite story? Aww, thanks: )

Zafr0: LOL I shall, I shall! Thanks for your review, I love getting new reviewers!

FrederickCharleston: Hooray for dialogue! And thank you; I like Lillany's name too. : )

Viva-taquitos: …What? LOL your comment made me laugh but I had no idea what you were talking about. Thanks for the review, though! Lol…

Animes18: Yeah…Glinda's pretty stupid…LOL it's just more fun to write her as being stupid than write her as being smart. Thank you for your compliments!

Whogirl: Yes, Oveel will be somehow important later on…foreshadowing. Thank you so much!

Ari: Aww, thank you! Though, I admit, Fiyero doesn't have much of a character at all...oh well, thank you very much!


	19. Chapter Nineteen

A/N: I hit a hundred reviews! YES! Oh, I'm so excited! Thank you so much! I would throw you guys a party…if I knew you… ; ) Okay, so this one's a short chapter with a bad ending…oh well, it'll get better (hopefully) soon…and if it seems kind of random, it's because I wrote Glinda and Elphaba's…meeting…first, then wrote the beginning, then the end, then the thing with Glinda, then finished the end. So I wrote it very randomly.

Oh...just read it again...this one's a very bad chapter, sorry...

Animes18: Thank you! They are rather cute, you're right. (smiles with pride)

Zafr0: Yes, longer chapters are so much better, but I didn't have too much to write about…well, yes, I guess I did, considering that actually more happens in this chapter…meaning it's more eventful…than in the last one, but for some reason it's still short. Oh, well, I'll try to make them longer next time! Thanks for the review!

PoetryOutLoud: Amazing? Hooray! Thank you! Yes, I'm surprised no one has noticed her yet also…I guess they're just not very observant people…(I'm just making an excuse for my own flaw in writing, LOL)

FrederickCharleston: Take pride, you are my hundredth reviewer! LOL fun stuff! Thanks!

Haley: LOL yes, Glinda visits Elphaba (finally!) I'm still not positive what to do about Boq…ehh I'll figure it out…thanks for the review!

Whogirl: Aww, thank you! You're so darn sweet: )

Kate: I did talk to you about your review, but just in case other people aren't clear on the same thing: I just copied Gregory Maguire on the tea thing…he never really does explain why she can drink tea but not water…maybe the tea mixture or whatever makes it so she can drink it? I have really no idea. : )

Panra: You're right, it does need more Fiyero! Hmm…if only I could post pictures… ;)

Countrybutterfly: I'm glad you have no cast on anymore! And no, that wasn't foreshadowing…I was just trying to show that Glinda has doubts about Elphaba…trying to be clever, didn't work, LOL. And no, I don't exactly know what you meant by the whole cliffhanger thing…could you explain it? I can try and make it better if you do…

Viva-taquitos: LOL that's fine! Review all you want, for sure!

…

Elphaba listened to the proceedings going on outside of the jail. It was a funeral, for a child, from the sound of it. They were only passing by, so Elphaba couldn't hear most of it, but she was glad of that…she didn't exactly want to hear it.

She sighed, turning her attentions away from outside. Who had been that girl Oveel had brought in the night before? Were people starting to know she was in there? She had looked terrified of her, which was customary of the people of Oz. The girl had brought her tea. That was Glinda's job. Why hadn't Glinda come by? Was she really that mad? She might have just been busy. Elphaba sighed again, and then laughed despite herself, remembering Damaran. She smiled sadly to herself. She missed them…Fiyero especially, of course. She stood up and began to pace. Oveel had come a couple hours ago, and she had put the tray out of reach before he had gotten there to see if he would possibly come into her cell like he had the day before…perhaps she could get out? When he had gotten there, he smiled awkwardly as usual and put her tray in. She stood at the back, watching him.

"Could you hand that to me?"

Darn.

So that hadn't worked. It wasn't a very well executed escape attempt anyway, it was more of an experiment. She would need to be a little more clever if she intended on escaping…which she wasn't sure that she intended on doing, anyway. She would wait until she talked to Glinda again to decide on anything.

…

"Miss Glinda, I'm sorry to bother you again, you have another visitor…they demand to see you, I'm sorry…"

Glinda jumped. It was another of her maids. Glinda was in the room the Wizard had used to speak to visitors, with the large head that had intimidated her and Elphie so much. She was examining the metal structure when the maid had talked to her.

"Yes, yes, of course, I'll be down in a moment…"

She walked into the room a few minutes later, her puffy, pink dress slowing her down, with three rumpled soldiers waiting for her. All of them looked tired. She plastered on her fake smile and sat across from them. "What can I do for you?" she asked pleasantly.

"We were told to guard two men that were accompanying the Wicked Witch of the West in her castle. We discovered about five days ago that they had escaped, and came here as quickly as possible."

Glinda stopped smiling. She knew they must have been talking about Fiyero, and that boy. She nodded. "All right. Thank you for telling me."

They looked confused. "Are you going to…do anything about it?"

Glinda raised her chin. "That is disclosed information," she told them. In truth, she had no idea what to do with them, and didn't really want to decide at the moment. "You're excused," she finished, dismissing them.

They all got up, feeling a little offended, and she watched as they walked out of the door. She sighed. She decided she would see Elphaba that night. She could at least yell at her. She knew it would make her feel better.

…

Elphaba no longer slept when it got dark…she would always just be woken by somebody anyways. She waited for…who, she wasn't sure. Glinda, possibly, but not likely, as she was sure she was still mad at her. Fiyero and Damaran, probably. It was still dusk, though, with some light. She crossed to the back and uncovered her broom carefully, holding it. She looked out the window wistfully, wanting out terribly. She didn't often let herself think of that, though, and she set the broom down again, covering it again with the hay. She would wait…her time for flying again would come soon, she was sure.

After it got dark, Elphaba paced through her cell, waiting for whomever would decide to visit her that night. Soon, Elphaba's sharp ears heard the footsteps coming from the second entrance, and she stood still, waiting.

It was Glinda. Elphaba felt slightly relieved, she needed to talk to her. Glinda was walking briskly, and held a glass, as usual. She walked to the bars, and Elphaba did the same. Elphaba took a breath to say something, but Glinda held up her hand. "Save it. Take this," she snapped.

Elphaba took the glass from her and set it on the ground. She held on to the bars, and Glinda backed up a little, though it didn't look like it was in fear. She crossed her arms.

"Glinda, look, I'm _sorry_ –"

"I don't care!" she told her, eyes brimming with tears she would never shed. "He broke my heart when he left me for you, and you broke my heart when you had supposedly died. And then you told me he had done the same! No, I don't care anymore."

Elphaba sighed impatiently, thinking wryly of karma. "Well…I never did actually say that he died…"

Glinda huffed, then coughed briefly. "You im_plied_ it, Elphie, and you know it! Anyway, I only came down here to inform you that I don't know what I'm going to do with you, so you should probably get comfortable here."

Elphaba hit the bars in anger, which made Glinda jump. "Just let me _out_, Glinda!"

"I can't do that," she told her sharply. "Too many people know you're here, I have no good reason why I'd just suddenly let you go."

"Tell them I escaped, tell them some mad Ozian let me out, tell them anything!"

"No, you know that would never work! Besides all of that, I can't have you running around Oz, I don't know what you would _do_!"

Elphaba felt struck. She took her hands off of the bars and stepped back a step, staring wide-eyed at Glinda.

Glinda stared back boldly, part of her wishing she hadn't said that, but part of her was glad she had. After a moment, she turned around, leaving the way she had come.

Elphaba watched her go, shocked at Glinda's words. She put her hands to her face, closing her eyes tightly against the tears she didn't want to fall. She couldn't bring herself to believe what Glinda had said. She didn't know what she would do? What did she think she would do? She couldn't possibly believe what the rest of Oz thought, that she was some sort of monster trying to wreak havoc. She took her hands from her face, regaining control, and walking over to the glass Glinda had brought her…it was milk, that day. She sipped it, thinking. She had to remain strong, for her own sake. If Glinda no longer trusted her, fine, she was on her own. She would figure something out. She _would_. She and Fiyero would go back to living in Kiamo Ko…Damaran, also, if he still wanted to. It wasn't the life she had dreamed about in Shiz, certainly…but it was better than whatever Glinda had planned out for her, she figured. She would no longer be bored…she needed to figure something out.

…

Fiyero and Damaran came not thirty minutes after Glinda had left. She smiled at them, though the mere sight of Fiyero almost set her off the edge of her emotion. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she had time to rethink them.

"I think you should both go back. Back to Kiamo Ko…I'll be all right, here."

Fiyero stared at her, having barely reached her cell. "What?"

"I'm serious…you can't stay here, I don't know what Glinda's going to…just please, go back." She hated saying it, but knew she had to. Glinda was clearly angry with her, and Elphaba didn't want her taking it out on Fiyero or Damaran.

Damaran shook his head angrily. "Hey, we followed you for like, a _week_. And it wasn't fun! We're not just going to turn around now and hope that you get out safely."

Fiyero nodded. "Elphaba…we're going to stay here and wait. We need to be here in case…well…in case something happens."

Elphaba swallowed. "Fiyero…"

"No, Elphaba. You _need_ us right now."

Elphaba stared at them through wide eyes, and finally accepted it. But 'in case something happens'? She didn't want to think about the "something" that he talked about.

Damaran looked around her cell curiously. "They give you milk?" he asked, pointing to the clear glass Glinda had given her, somewhat surprised.

Elphaba nodded, not wanting to go into detail of Glinda's visit.

Fiyero was relieved. At least Glinda wasn't going to make her die of thirst.

They had little to say to one another, and soon Fiyero and Damaran left. She felt very alone afterwards, and crossed again to the broom behind her. It seemed almost to call to her, begging her to take it out. She felt the handle, feeling the tingle run down her spine. She hadn't ridden it in so long…she preferred being on the run and frightened for her life every moment to being kept behind iron bars, frightened for what, she didn't know. She again put it under the hay. It would come, the time when she could ride it again…when she did, she would probably be a fugitive again, but she could handle that. It was better than this.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Elphaba sat in the corner of her cell, back against the bars and cape wrapped tightly around her, watching the huge raindrops falling outside miserably. It had been raining since very early that morning, before the sun was up, and she had been woken up by some rain splashing on her face from outside a few hours earlier. It was finally turning to dawn, but it was still raining, and didn't show any signs of letting up or stopping.

She didn't hear Oveel's footsteps that day, she was too preoccupied with the rain, and jumped when she finally did hear him behind her. She stood up, and he switched the trays and took a glance outside. His hair was dripping with water, and his clothes looked soaked, though he had a heavy coat on. "How long has it been raining?"

"A few hours, at least."

He nodded, and carrying her empty tray, walked away. She didn't know where he went when he left her, but she thought it may have been guarding her, since Fiyero, Damaran, and Glinda all came by the other entrance – she thought that it was probably because he was at the main one. She would ask Fiyero, eventually.

…

Fiyero and Damaran came back to their…fort, you could call it, pleased with themselves for getting a rabbit. They had cooked it and ate where they had found it, and Fiyero saved some for Elphaba…he didn't know what they were feeding her, she could want it. They were located on a hill, in the bushes, and they guessed nobody could see them. They could see the Emerald City, though.

Damaran frequently stood watching everyone, and Fiyero guessed he was just curious – he hadn't ever been to the Emerald City before. He finally decided to ask him, though.

"Why are you so interested in their lives?"

"I'm not."

"Why are you staring at them, then?"

"Well…I thought, maybe…if my sister's here, maybe I'd see her, or something."

Fiyero felt terrible…he had completely forgotten about Damaran's sister. "Oh, I see," he said. Damaran sat down next to Fiyero with a sigh. "When are we going to do something about Elphaba?"

Fiyero shook his head. "I don't know," he responded. "Maybe if I can talk to Glinda…"

"Isn't she mad at you?"

"Probably. But…I think she still loves me. She might let her go, if I asked her to. Maybe."

Damaran nodded. "But how are you going to see Glinda? Aren't you supposed to be dead? And Glinda would be guarded, right?"

"Well, it's not foolproof."

"I can tell."

"Do _you_ have any ideas?"

Damaran paused. "I still think she should just get mad and melt the bars with her eyes, or something."

Fiyero didn't answer him, but gave a small sigh to show how stupid he thought Damaran's idea was.

…

Glinda was very tired the next day. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she was also coughing quite a bit. She called Lillany up to her room.

"Yes?"

"I'd like for you to bring the Witch tea again, today, please. I'm not feeling my best, if you don't mind."

Lillany nodded, almost smiling, but not quite, and she quietly stepped out of Glinda's room.

…

It was still raining that night when Fiyero and Damaran came to visit her. They were both wet, and they made sure not to touch her. Fiyero knelt down and put some dried meat on her tray. "It's rabbit," he told her. "We got it today."

"Thanks," she said. She stooped down to grab it, eating it quickly.

Watching her, Fiyero felt like an idiot. Of course she was hungry…why hadn't he thought to bring her food before? He didn't know what they fed her, but it obviously wasn't much.

"Are you all right? You haven't gotten wet, have you?" Fiyero asked her, concernedly.

"No…well, this morning, a little bit, but it's all right."

"That's good…have you…thought of anything yet?"

"No," she told him, knowing what he meant.

He nodded. "We will think of something, you know. Or Glinda will let you go. It won't be very much longer, I'm sure."

She smiled and nodded, though it was fake.

She heard footsteps suddenly, and turned around swiftly towards the main entrance, tensing. Damaran and Fiyero did the same, as Oveel and the girl Oveel had brought with him the other night came into view. Oveel was holding a glass. The two stopped, and all five of them stood for a moment, staring at each other.

Elphaba was panicked. Oveel was going to take Fiyero into custody…and probably Damaran also. "Okay, Oveel, _don't_ get mad –"

"Lillany?" Damaran choked out.

"Damaran!" Lillany cried, her eyes welling with tears.

The two rushed to embrace each other, and met in front of Elphaba's cell. Damaran lifted Lillany off of the ground slightly, then set her back down. She was crying, and even he looked overcome with emotion.

"I was hoping I would see you, when we came here, I was coming from our home, and then I ran into them, and then I came here with him, and I was hoping you would be here –"

"I was going to write Mother soon, I was going to ask her if she'd send you here –" She wiped her eyes, smiling, and they hugged again.

Fiyero, Elphaba, and Oveel watched with wide eyes, and Damaran finally turned to them. "This is my sister," he announced proudly. He turned Lillany towards Elphaba and Fiyero. "This is Fiyero, I came here with him," he told her. Fiyero gave a small smile, still in shock at what had just happened.

Lillany smiled at him, too, and Damaran pointed to Elphaba. "That's the Wicked Witch of the West, only she's not really wicked, and her name's Elphaba," he told her matter-of-factly.

Elphaba put her hand up in a small wave, uncomfortable and confused.

Lillany smiled at her, still looking timid. She turned back to Damaran. "You're taller than me!" she exclaimed happily. "I haven't seen you for two years, you've grown so tall!"

Damaran smiled, and turned to Oveel, who stood quietly, not quite sure of what to do. "And is he your husband?"

Lillany blushed furiously, as did Oveel. "No," she told him. "That's Oveel."

Oveel also smiled awkwardly. "Hi," he said to Damaran.

Damaran smiled back.

"Um…you're really not supposed to be down here…" Oveel said. He turned to Fiyero. "Especially not you…" he trailed off. His tone was almost apologetic.

Elphaba bit her lip, and looked down. It was quiet as Oveel tried to decide what to do. Fiyero watched him cautiously, not sure of whether or not he should run. He knew if he did run then this guard – Oveel – would certainly run after him. But if he stayed there, then he could capture him. He waited.

Oveel looked from Elphaba to Fiyero, and then to Lillany, who had a protective hold on her brother. "Well…I guess prisoners can have visitors…" he knew if he was caught for his decision, he would be fired, or possibly worse, especially considering Fiyero Tigular was a wanted fugitive. But he was growing to like Elphaba, and he didn't want to do that to her.

Elphaba smiled in relief at him, and he passed her the tea through the bars, which she drank, feeling uncomfortable with everyone watching her.

"Where are you staying?" Lillany asked Damaran.

"In the woods, somewhere."

"Oh…I would offer you stay with me, but I live in the Palace, people would see you," she told him, clearly not liking the idea of him living in the woods.

Damaran shook his head. "Nah, it's all right. We're fine."

Oveel clearly was uncomfortable there, and patted Lillany on the shoulder. "I'm going to be…guarding, again, just come out when you're done and I'll walk you up," he told her. He nodded to Fiyero and Elphaba, and walked back to his post.

Fiyero took his cue, also. "I should go, too," he said. "Damaran, I'll be where our stuff is, you can come back when you're ready…take your time." Damaran smiled, genuinely happy that night.

Fiyero smiled, small, at Elphaba, and quietly, so that Lillany and Damaran couldn't hear, he whispered, "You'll be all right. I know we'll figure something out, Elphaba, the two of us will get out of here and be safe again."

Elphaba nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. Fiyero tore his eyes away from her and walked back the way he had come into the rain that was still falling.

It was just Lillany, Damaran, and Elphaba, and the three stared at each other for a moment. "Have you met before?" Damaran asked the two.

Elphaba and Lillany looked at each other. "Well, no, not really," Lillany answered him, not confident at all that the Witch wasn't wicked, as Damaran had said she wasn't.

Elphaba cleared her throat. "You two should probably talk…" she said, not wanting to interfere on their reunion.

Lillany nodded, and pulled Damaran towards the other end of the hall, towards where Fiyero had left, and they sat down, leaving Elphaba behind.

"How come you're with them?" she whispered to him urgently. "Damaran…they're wanted criminals. Well, I guess she's not exactly wanted anymore, but…"

"No! They're really nice," he told her earnestly. "Well, they did kind of kidnap me…"

"What?"

"No! But only because Fiyero shot me with an arrow, and –"

"He _shot_ you?"

"No! Let me finish! He shot me with an arrow _on accident_, and he brought me home so they could fix my wound or whatever, even though it wasn't very deep, and they told me I couldn't leave, but I didn't _want_ to, because they were nice, and they gave me free food and all of that, and even after that, they didn't force me at all to stay with them, but I did anyway, because I wanted to! You _know_ me, would I really stay with them if I thought either one of them were wicked?"

She considered that for a moment. "Well, you don't have the best judgement…"

"You don't understand! It was a misunderstanding, all of it! Actually, it's the _wizard_ who's evil, and him and…a madame, or something, they made it look like she was the evil one. And she was friends with Glinda the Good Witch! She still is, but they're mad at each other because Glinda's in love with Fiyero, even though Fiyero and Elphaba are in love."

It was a lot of information to process, and Lillany sat back, and looked back in the direction of the Witch's cell. "What's her name again?"

"Elphaba."

"Elphaba."

"Yes."

She licked her lips. "Well…I guess she _seems_ nice…"

He grinned, and hugged her again. "I missed you so much," she whispered.

"I missed you, too."

…

Elphaba could hear every word they were saying…they had grown louder in their conversation, and they weren't really that far away. She tried not to listen, but found it hard, as it was the only thing besides the rain she could hear. She smiled at Damaran's defending of her and Fiyero. She hadn't known Damaran had had a sister; but she was glad…he had somewhere to go, at least, when all of this was…over. And selfishly, she had to admit that it didn't hurt for one more person to be on her side, which it seemed like Damaran had convinced her to be. She did wish Damaran hadn't told his sister who Fiyero was, but oh well. Even with different colored hair, it was hard not to tell it was him…he was practically as infamous as she herself. Damaran and Lillany were walking back to the entrance where Oveel was, then, and they stopped in front of her cell. "I'll come back again, tomorrow night," he told Elphaba.

Lillany didn't say anything, but gave her a small smile. Elphaba did the same, though she was a little apprehensive.

"All right," she told Damaran. Lillany hugged Damaran again.

"I'm going to go," she said to Damaran. "When will you be back here tomorrow night?"

"I don't know," he told her. "Probably around the same time."

Lillany smiled. "All right. I'll try to come back, also."

Damaran let her go, and she hurried to the front entrance. It was just Elphaba and Damaran, and she smiled at him. "I'm glad you found your sister," she told him honestly.

He grinned. "Me, too. That's where I was going…when I found you guys."

She smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're reunited."

He smiled at her. "And she can help us!" he told her earnestly. "Well, you, I mean. She could like, tell Glinda or something that you need to be let out!"

Elphaba laughed briefly. "All right, Damaran. I'll see you tomorrow."

He waved joyously to her and went the opposite way Lillany had gone. Elphaba smiled. She hoped he was right.

…

A/N: You guys seriously rock. I'm on eleven people's favorites list, and twelve people's author alerts lists! And you're always so nice when you review…you guys are the best.

I have revealed a plot twist! Yea! Some of you guys caught it…congratulations to you! I've been planning it since the chapter Damaran said he had a sister in…I had only a few hints: Lillany was the same age as Damaran's sister, she has brown hair like Damaran (even though so does Elphaba, and she's not his sister, so that wasn't really that much of a hint), and she's from the Uplands. Like Damaran. But you probably figured it out because I went more in depth into her…yeah, so hope you guys liked it! And in case you're wondering, Oveel doesn't like Elphaba like _that_, and he won't. : ) And this chapter doesn't have very good _writing_ in it, but it was necessary, it revealed some important stuff. Sorry about that!

Oh yeah, and I'm sorry my author's notes take up so much space! I just have so much to say!

The Dragon Sorceress: Awesome! (see? I'm articulate too!)

Tinkerbellx2: Aww, thank you! I've done that a few times, too, it makes me feel very happy that someone did the same for mine! Thank you so much!

Countrybutterfly: LOL, I noticed that I strayed from Glinda's character, also, but decided not to mention it in my author's note to see if anyone else noticed. I now understand what you mean by the cliff metaphor thing…I think I'm still doing what you told me not to, but I'll work on it. Thank you for telling me that!

Some other crazy lady: Glad you like it, you're correct, I'm treading water. Don't worry; that's over, it'll start to pick up next chapter. You should try to see Wicked October 30th, by the way! That's Wicked Day…it's their two year anniversary! So yes, if you can see it that day, definitely do! I'm sure you'll have a great time, when you go. Definitely worth the wait!

Frederick Charleston: LOL. Yeah, I can see how you would think Damaran's immature…after all, he is. : )

Animes18: Well, in the musical, they never specify what Dorothy brings back to the Wizard, and in the book, she brings back the green bottle of Miracle Elixir. Though it makes sense…after all, in the end of the musical, Fiyero and Elphaba don't bring anything with them. Oh well, pretend like you can visualize Elphaba walking offstage with her broom, LOL. Haha, I have a swankified story! Thank you!

Ari: LOL…you're kind of right, actually, about Fiyero's character assessment. I mean, in the first act, he's great and pompous and perfect and all of that, but in the second act he almost gets…bland. I mean, he loves Elphaba…but that's kind of his only character trait. And he's willing to give up everything for love? I don't know…I can't really think of anything else about his character. And thank you! That you're still reading my story, I mean. I felt rather special after reading that : )

Viva-taquitos: LOL I don't know the commercial, but the title of the song certainly does sound like my last paragraph! That's all right…I watch quite a bit of television, also…probably more than I ought to…

Jemima: Thanks! You're right, Glinda needs to get over herself…she will…soon…

Bernadette: Thank you! Glad to see new fans…it's not well-liked enough! Wicked, I mean, not mystory, LOL. I'm glad you get to see it soon! It needed to go on tour, not enough people have seen it! We must spread the Wicked cheer!

Bubblesnbrooms: Thanks! I'm kind of liking the way this is going, also…though I think it may get a little corny…oh well, nothing wrong with that…

Zafr0: No, I don't think Glinda's really going to do anything terrible like I suggested in my last chapter…she's not that mean! Thank you very much!

Whogirl: Thanks so much! Golly's such a great word, by the way. : )


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

A/N: Gah! I did it again, with the ending, it sucks! I must work on that! And there is no Fiyero or Damaran in this chapter! Well, they make an appearance, but I go into no detail about it due to lack of inspiration. And this one's fairly short…

Jemima: I laughed when I read about your dream! Very awesome. And no, you're not dumb because you didn't get the thing about Damaran and Lillany! I was hoping no one would…

Ari: Thank you! You're right…this is kind of the beginning of the end…which is sad, no matter how bad I think it is, it's still fun to write!

Zafr0: That's all right! I'm glad it went over your head; it definitely would have gone over mine!

Animes18: LOL, nice keeping track of the score! Thank you!

Frederick Charleston: LOL yup, it was foreshadowing! And I shall continue, of course!

Viva-taquitos: LOL, well, thanks…I don't have much to say to that, actually, just thank you: )

Sinfulpurgatory: Glad you think so!

Idinakristinfan: Hahaha, I updated, I want my invisible virtual Wicked tickets now! And I can see the invisible virtual show! …watching…FLY, ELPHABA, FLY! Wow, sorry, it was Defying Gravity! It's intermission, now, so I'll continue posting this! …yeah…I know I'm insane…

Katie: Thanks so much!

Whogirl: It was awhile ago (I think it was chapter four) that I really talked about Damaran and his family and all that. Shall I review it? Yes, I think so…

All right, so Damaran ran away from his family because his mother was an alcoholic and he was sick of her (or something) and he was going to the Emerald City to try and find his sister, who had left when she was eighteen. Damaran was in the woods near Kiamo Ko, and Fiyero mistook him for some sort of animal and shot him with an arrow. And then he brought him home…and all that. Yes.

The Lonely Goatherd: Thank you!

…

Elphaba wasn't sleeping when Oveel came by with her food, and he smiled at her. "Some night."

She nodded. "Thanks," she said. "You know…about Fiyero and Damaran."

He nodded, dismissing the comment. "Lillany is assistant cook now, she put tea on your tray."

She was a little surprised, but took the tea from the tray. "How'd she manage that?"

"The regular one…fell ill."

She nodded, and drank it quickly. It went down the wrong pipe, and she coughed, choking on it.

"Are you all right?" He asked her, nervous and wide-eyed.

She nodded, staring at him under furrowed eyebrows. "Yes, I'm fine."

He looked relieved. "Good…there's a sickness going around Oz right now. It's…it's really bad. One of the main symptoms is coughing…"

She set the tea down. "How bad?"

He shook his head. "People have already died from it. Some get better, but…some don't. It usually only takes a couple of weeks."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Do a lot of people have it?"

"No, not yet. But it's contagious…it's getting worse."

Her hand shook a little bit, having to ask the question. "Who has it?"

He didn't want to tell her, she looked so scared, and he was nearly sure of who she was thinking about. "Glinda."

…

Glinda knew she was sick, and it scared her. A doctor had been employed to take care of her, and he was never too far from her room. She knew it was bad, there had been talk of a sickness going through Oz. She slept a lot, and was beginning to lose her voice. Everything ached. Once, halfway conscious, she thought she had seen Lillany come in and take a book from her nightstand…but she may have been dreaming; she couldn't be positive in the state she was in.

People hovered over her, asking if she felt like a glass of water, or replacing the cool washcloth on her head they would put to keep her fever down. What she really wanted was to brush her hair, but she would keep quiet and let them bring her water. The first day or so, when it had just been coughing, she had thought she would get better, it was just a cold. Now, though, she was getting worse, and it frightened her. She didn't want to die, and she knew people had from the sickness that she was stricken with. She knew people had also gotten better…and she was Glinda the Good. She would get better, of course…she wouldn't die. There were too many people that _depended_ on her. She couldn't.

…

Elphaba sat staring off into the distance, unbelieving of what Oveel had said.

Glinda had a sickness she could_ die_ from? No! No, Glinda wasn't going to die while they were mad at each other. She wasn't going to die at all. Was there any medicine? Elphaba had asked Oveel. No, he had responded, they don't know how to treat it yet.

No…she took a shaky breath. She imagined this must have been what it had felt like for Glinda when she had heard they were going to kill Elphaba. It was a terrible feeling.

The Grimmerie! Elphaba remembered her spell book in an instant, excitedly. She could get the Grimmerie…there had to be _something_ in there, after all. If she could find something, some spell in there, Glinda could be better. There was always the chance that there was no spell in there for something like this…but she didn't think about that, she had to see it to find out. Maybe she could get Oveel to get it for her…her thoughts raced. She would ask him as soon as she could.

Oveel didn't come by until that evening, he and Lillany came before Fiyero and Damaran had come by. She spent the entire day waiting for him, and when she heard the footsteps she ran to clutch the bars, her face held close to them. They rounded the corner and walked to her cell. "Oveel, I need you to do me another favor." She said eagerly.

He bit his lip, and Lillany looked from one to the other, waiting to see what he would do. "Okay," he said, remembering the last time all he had to do was deliver a message.

She smiled. "I need you to get me the Grimmerie."

"Oh, no," he said, his hands up in defense. "No. That's that spell book of yours, I've heard of that, I can _not_ get you that, definitely not. You could try to escape or something."

She sighed, exasperated. "I'm not going to try to escape! I need it…just…_please_Oveel. I promise, I'm not going to escape, I just need to see it, I need to…" she trailed off, not exactly sure why she didn't want to tell him why she needed it.

Oveel and Lillany exchanged a glance, and she watched them, nervous. Oveel turned back to her. "You _promise_ you're not going to try to escape?"

She nodded impatiently. "I don't even know if there's a spell in there for…me to get out, anyway. Glinda has it," she told Oveel.

"I could get it," Lillany volunteered shyly. Elphaba looked at her, surprised and grateful, and then turned back to Oveel. He stared at Elphaba for a moment, and then sighed.

"Fine," he said. Elphaba grinned. "Why do you need it?"

She didn't say anything, just stared at him. He sighed. "Fine," he said again, defeated.

Damaran and Fiyero came then, and Damaran and Lillany greeted each other with a hug again. Fiyero clutched her hand (it had stopped raining) and she gave him a smile. She had a slight bit of hope…and though she hadn't thought of it, Oveel was right. She could try to escape…after she had helped Glinda, of course. She wasn't sure that she would, but if she had the Grimmerie, there was really nothing stopping her. She decided to make a decision later.

They had a boring visit which Elphaba never wanted to end, but inevitably, Damaran and Fiyero left. She was left with Lillany and Oveel, and once Damaran and Fiyero had left, Lillany turned to Elphaba. "I can get the book to Oveel tomorrow morning," she said.

Elphaba nodded at her. "Good," she replied.

Oveel pursed his lips. "All right, whatever," he told them both. He motioned for Lillany to follow him out. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then," he told Elphaba.

She nodded again, hopeful that she would find something in the Grimmerie that might help Glinda. Lillany and Oveel left, and she licked her lips. There had to be something in there that would help Glinda. There _had_ to. There was always the chance that she would get better on her own…but if she didn't? Elphaba couldn't think of that. She couldn't have Glinda die. It wouldn't be her fault, if Glinda did, but she knew she would always feel guilty because of the way they had last parted. She sat against the bars. Glinda would live. She _would_.

…

Elphaba was up early the next morning, waiting for Oveel. He was carrying the Grimmerie under the tray, and she smiled despite herself when she saw it. He slid the tray to her, and then turned the book sideways so he could fit it through the hole the bars made. She grabbed it from him, and sat down with it eagerly. She began to quickly paw through the pages, skimming each one anxiously.

"So I'll see you later, then?"

Her back was to him, and she raised a hand in farewell, absorbed in the book.

He was extremely nervous about her having the Grimmerie, and didn't go outside of the jail, just turned the corner from her and sat, his back against the bars of one of the cells. He knew that there could be something in there to help her escape, and if she did, he would be in huge trouble with the law – he would be an accomplice. He groaned quietly to himself. He should have at least asked her why she needed it.

He let his mind drift to other matters. He had been avoiding contact with most people in Oz – he didn't want the sickness. He wasn't scared for Elphaba's sake; she came in contact with, what, four people? No, he was scared for his own – and for Lillany's. He didn't know why, after all, he barely knew her, but he seemed to…care about her. He smiled, and listened carefully. He could hear Elphaba flipping pages in the book. He hoped she wasn't looking for something terrible. She had promised – but what good was her word? So he, personally, liked her. Was he forgetting everything she had done? The fear she had put Oz in for years? The tyranny she had held over the Wizard? The mutilation to the animals she had done? He sighed, inwardly. There was nothing to be done for it now, at least. He stood up and went out again, back to the entrance to the building. He would check on her soon. She wouldn't get out, not under his watch.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

A/N: Filler alert! Damaran and Lillany's little blurb in this is just filler…no point for it. Oh well…I swear, it'll get better. Like, with events (gasp!). Oh well…

Sorry it took me so long! My computer was down for awhile. My updates will be closer together from now on, I swear!

Viva-taquitos: I hope you don't pass out either! Blame it on Oveel _if _Glinda dies. 'Tis not my fault!

The Dragon Sorceress: Hahaha! Sorry my chapters are so short! This one's even shorter…but you must forgive me, I had limited time to work on it because I wanted it up quickly!

BernieR: Glad you like it! Yes, spread the word about Wicked! Others must know of its greatness: )

Sinfulpurgatory: Building the set for Wizard of Oz? Oh, how fun! Is Kiamo Ko going to be in the background? (Hint…_hint_…) yeah. Very awesome, though!

Zafr0: You're very welcome about the cliffhanger! LOL I love Glinda too! No, not _that_ way, lol, very nice. Yeah, Fiyero and Glinda rock…because she's perfect…he's perfect…they're just darn perfect together! ; )

Kate: Thanks! And for your question…probably…

PoetryOutLoud: Yes, I do love your optimism! Hooray for happy endings! …darn Winnie Holtzman and Stephen Schwartz didn't give us one…hmph.

Panra: lol loved your review! Made me laugh. : ) And you're right, Liir _is_ like Neville Longbottom! I never realized it before, but I can't believe how much they are alike! Nice job spotting that one! And what are the sith?

Animes18: Thank you! Actually, I had a few really small hints…the funeral Elphaba listened to, and I mentioned Glinda coughing twice. But I'm glad no one caught them, makes it more fun!

Frederick Charleston: Thanks! Glad you liked it.

Elphaba-thropp: Aww, thanks! Well…I can't _tell_ you…(imagine me with the grin of an eight year old with a secret)

Countrybutterfly: I hope it goes where you think it's going so you love it! Lol. I'm sad knowing it's beginning to end, too. For lack of a better word, it's very sucky. That's not even a word, but I think it describes it adequately. And I think my ending is a little bit better…what do you think?

…

Damaran walked slowly through the woods of the Emerald City. He wasn't exactly sure of what to do…he knew Lillany would let him stay with her in a heartbeat, but could he abandon Fiyero and Elphaba like that? After all, they had been so nice to him…and he knew that Fiyero couldn't stay in the palace. He could, himself, but he'd have to be alone. People would recognize Fiyero. They wouldn't recognize Damaran.

He smiled despite himself. He couldn't believe he had met his sister again! And in the most unlikely of places…in a way, it was Elphaba who brought the two together in the first place. He sat next to a tree. Maybe…maybe Lillany could let Elphaba out. But could he ask his sister to do that? She could lose her job. She never had been the daring type – leaving home to live in the Emerald City was the biggest thing she had ever done, and probably would ever do in her life. Could he ask her to risk losing that?

So many decisions, so many different loyalties. He sighed. Elphaba needed help…but Lillany couldn't give up her job. Of course, she might not be caught…he sighed again. At the moment, he decided not to do anything. If Lillany wanted to help Elphaba, she would, right? He nodded to himself. He would stay out of it. Either way, somebody would/could get hurt. He decided he didn't want that on his conscience.

…

Lillany sat in her room, not doing anything. She was trying to avoid contact with most people, as most everyone either had the sickness or knew someone that did, and now that she had found Damaran, her life was important to her. Those working in the palace had not had much to do lately, as Glinda was sick, and they didn't know _what_ to do, really. It seemed to all fall apart. She made dinner for Glinda, and put bread on a tray and tea with it for Elphaba, but that was her only job. The cook realized she didn't have much skill in the area of food, and found someone else to help him, which she figured was just as well. She leaned back in her desk chair, eyes becoming unfocused as she thought. What was she going to do with her brother? She couldn't send him back, not to her horrible mother. But was it best for him to stay in the Emerald City? How was she going to take care of him? Sure, he could live with her, there, but would he even want to? While she was busy, would he just stay in her room waiting for her to get back? She sighed. If she had a _real_ house, with a real family, it would be different. But at the moment, she didn't know what to do.

…

Elphaba paced back and forth quickly, impatient for Oveel to get there. It was early two mornings after she had convinced Oveel to get her the Grimmerie, and he should bring food by soon. She had found the spell to make Glinda better, she had found it! She needed Oveel to take her to Glinda, she needed to cure Glinda. After having found the spell to rid Glinda of her sickness, feeling a little guilty, she looked for a spell that could…break iron, or locks, or something like that so she could get out on her own…there was nothing. She was almost relieved – if she had found a spell like that, she would have needed to decide whether or not she wanted to use it. She had promised Oveel, after all.

She heard the footsteps, and eagerly ran to the bars, clutching them, her face near. She waited in anticipation for him to come around the corner, and when she saw him, she grinned. "Oveel!" she exclaimed impatiently.

He carried the tray as usual, and walked quickly to her cell. He slid it underneath the bars and stood up. "What?" he asked warily.

"Oveel…" she took a deep breath, knowing he might say no. "I need to see Glinda."

He shook his head, sighing. "Elphaba, you know she can't come see you, she's sick, she can't get out of bed."

She swallowed. "I know that. I need to go see her."

He immediately started to shake his head, and backed off, his hands in the air. "Oh, no. No, no, no. I can't do that, I can't let you out."

"No, but Oveel, you don't understand, I _need_ to see her –"

"I can't let you out! You're a _prisoner_, Elphaba, I can't let you go!"

She let go of the bars, and quickly ran to the back of her cell where she had left the Grimmerie open. She grabbed it and showed the page to Oveel, leaving it open and putting it against the bars. "Oveel, I _found_ it, I found the spell that will make Glinda, and anyone else who's got it, better! I can make her better, but I need to see her!"

Oveel came close and squinted at the page. "I can't read that," he said suspiciously.

"I know, no one can! But I can, I know what it says!"

He paused and straightened. "Well, then how do I know that that's what you say it is?"

She huffed. "You just have to _trust_ me, that's what it is! Oveel, you don't understand, you have to do this, you have to do this for Glinda!"

He stood, staring at her for a moment. Her eyes were desperate, and she clutched the Grimmerie to herself. He chewed on his lip, thinking hard. "No," he decided, shaking his head. "No, I can't do that."

She threw down the Grimmerie in frustration, and he jumped. Keeping his eyes on her warily, he took the empty tray and walked quickly away.

After seeing him turn the corner, she let out a short scream, and let the side of her fist strike the bars. It echoed for a few moments after that. She was perfectly aware that he could hear her, and that she was throwing a temper tantrum, but she didn't care. She flopped on the ground and brought her knees to her chin, hugging her legs. How could he not believe her? She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to regain control of her temper. She slowly stood up, walking to the back of her cell where she had her broom buried. She knelt down before it, staring at it underneath the hay. What could she do? There had to be something. If Oveel didn't plan on letting her out…she stood up again and went back to the Grimmerie. She would have to look through it again. Maybe there were other things she could do…she could probably control someone. If she could find a spell to manipulate him…she shuddered. She didn't want to do that, but if he wouldn't cooperate with her, she would have to. She picked the Grimmerie up and started to slowly flip through.This move certainly wouldn't help her reputation, but she wouldn't have to worry about it, anyway – she would help Glinda, get Fiyero, and get out of Oz as quickly as she could. She knew her reputation was beyond saving, anyway, this couldn't make it any worse. Of course, more people would know she was alive…that was okay. If she left them alone, maybe they would do the same for her. She flipped through the Grimmerie, hating what she was planning to do. It needed to be done, however. Hypnotizing or manipulating or doing whatever to Oveel would help more people than it would hurt. It wasn't like she was going to kill him. But…would it have lasting effects? She put the Grimmerie down. She could ruin his life. "Oh," she whispered to herself, frustrated, and rubbed her temples. She couldn't do it. She lay down, curled up, angry with herself. She couldn't do it.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

Elphaba bolted upright, awoken very late at night by a metal scraping sound. She looked up confusedly, and saw Oveel with keys in his hand, finding out which one worked in the door to her cell. Her face broke into a grin, and she stood up, grabbing the Grimmerie and clutching it tightly.

He looked up at her, a grim expression on his face, clearly not liking himself for what he was doing. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered to her.

She eagerly watched his hands, waiting for him to find the right key. He tried another one, and the lock clicked. He took a hold on one of the bars and with a grunt, pulled the door open. He motioned for her to come with him.

She hesitated for a moment. Should she grab her broom and try to make a run for it? He registered the look in her eyes quickly and leaned forward to grab her wrist. "Oh, no," he said warningly. He pulled her out of the cell, gripping tightly for fear that she would run.

She held on to the Grimmerie with one arm and let him hold on to her other, not appreciating it. She understood, though. He walked her briskly towards the front entrance, where he had been keeping guard for so many days. She followed behind him, nervous. When they turned the corner, he brought her to the wall and walked alongside it, carefully staying in the shadows. She readjusted her grip on the Grimmerie. They walked to the front entrance, and Oveel peered around the corner, looking for anybody. He saw no one, and he turned back to Elphaba. "Be careful," he said nervously. "It's going to be…really bad, if we're caught."

She nodded, aware of the danger they were both in. He turned back around and quickly walked out of the front entrance. She followed him, looking around, taking in everything.

You could hardly see anything, it was so dark, but Elphaba could tell it was beautiful still. The palace was right next door, and it was huge. Oveel hurried her, and she managed to tear her eyes away from the palace and look at her feet, focusing on not tripping. They walked quickly across the city square to the palace, and Oveel stopped them in front of it. "Okay," he whispered, looking up at the palace nervously. "There's a side door, at the kitchen. I don't think anyone will be in there…but they might. I guess I should go first…"

She nodded. "All right," she whispered, agreeing.

He took her to the side of the palace, and there was a side door as he had said. He stationed her next to it, and carefully turned the knob to the door and swung it open slowly, still holding on to Elphaba's wrist tightly. He peeked inside, then turned back to her. "There's no one. Put your cape around you," he whispered. "Try not to let your skin show at all."

She twisted her arm quickly out of his grasp and fell back a step from him. He started to lunge for her, but she pulled the sides of her cape around her face with her one arm that wasn't holding the Grimmerie and stepped forward again. "Better?" she asked, muffled a bit by holding her cape around her.

He stared at her for a moment. "Yes," he murmured. He put his hand on her back to lead her, and walked through the large kitchen. Their steps were loud, it being so quiet in the palace, and he cringed at every noise they made. They got to the kitchen door and he opened it, looking out. It was silent. He was surprised – there were many people living in the palace…though he suspected many of them were sick or taking care of the sick. He quietly shut the door to the kitchen again.

"Okay, stay here," he said to her quietly. "Watch out the door, I'll motion to you whether or not it's safe."

He couldn't see her face, but she nodded her head. He turned back around and opened the door, walking out it and leaving it open. It was a big room to walk across, and he tried to stride confidently, looking as if he were supposed to be there. There was no one there to see his act though, as he had suspected, and he walked to the landing of the stairs, feeling overly cautious. He looked up the grand staircase, and, seeing no one, turned back to the kitchen. He motioned with his hand for Elphaba to come, which she did, letting her cape fall back around her shoulders to grasp the Grimmerie with both hands.

He grabbed on to her shoulder again. "What are you doing?" he hissed, trying to arrange the cape around her. "We could be caught!"

She fought his hand for a moment, not liking him fussing with her cape. "If we're seen, we'll be stopped anyway, and they'll find out who I am. It's not going to help anything."

He sighed, letting her cape down again. Not looking at her, he started up the stairs. She followed closely.

They climbed them quickly, nervous about being caught. When they reached the top of the stairs, both out of breath, there was a long hallway which went in both directions. He looked back and forth for a moment, not sure of where to go. Elphaba watched him nervously. "Where do we go from here?" she asked quietly, knowing he didn't know.

He bit his lip, and decided. "We'll go to Lillany's room. I know she knows where Glinda is, and she won't tell on us."

She nodded, and followed him to the left. There were many doors and rooms, and Elphaba figured it must be the quarters of everyone who lived there. Oveel counted doors as he went, and finally stopped after about ten rooms. He hesitated for a moment in front of the door, and was about to put up his hand to knock when Elphaba reached in front of him and turned the knob, making the door swing inward.

Lillany was asleep, and Oveel and Elphaba walked into her room hesitantly. Elphaba didn't know her, and didn't want to trust her, but supposed she had to. Oveel walked to her bedside and shook her gently. Elphaba hung back by the door, ready to make a quick escape if need be.

Lillany awoke drowsily, and sat up when she saw Oveel, embarrassed. She caught sight of Elphaba and her eyes widened. She got out of bed quickly, standing next to her bed awkwardly in a nightgown, looking from one to the other, not saying anything.

"We need your help," Oveel explained to her. Elphaba inched closer to the door, not sure of what Lillany's plan was. If she screamed, it would be pretty much over for Elphaba. But Lillany didn't say anything, just continued to look at them nervously.

"Elphaba needs to see Glinda. We don't know where she is, though, we were hoping you would. Can you help us?"

Lillany looked down for a moment, biting her lip. "Yes," she whispered.

Elphaba breathed a sigh of relief, and Lillany walked around her bed to the door, followed closely by Oveel. Elphaba let both of them pass before following.

Lillany led them to the very end of the hall and up a staircase. This was the floor that Glinda's room was on, and only hers. There was a beautifully carved door leading into the room, and Lillany pointed it out. "This is it," she whispered to the two. She stepped back a few steps, as did Oveel, leaving it to Elphaba.

She walked to the door, holding the Grimmerie tightly, and stared at it for a moment. What if there were other people inside? They would recognize her. Should Lillany go in first? No, she decided, Lillany would need an excuse and she didn't have one. No, if she was caught, she was caught, and hopefully the other two wouldn't get in trouble for it. She turned to them. "You should probably leave…" she trailed off.

Oveel shook his head. "No, I have to make sure everything's okay. Besides, I have to be sure you don't run off," he told her. Lillany just nodded, having no real reason to stay, but curious all the same of what she was going to do.

Elphaba turned back around and opened the door to Glinda's room, bracing herself for anything that might happen. The room smelled of the sick and the dying, which made Elphaba's hair stand on end. There were no extra people in the room, which she noted gratefully. The huge bed in the middle of the room had a lump in the middle, which Elphaba figured to be Glinda. She walked tentatively towards the bed, having not thought of the fact that Glinda could already be dead.

She wasn't. Elphaba pulled back the large (pink) comforter to reveal her breathing friend. Her face was flushed, she could tell even by only the moonlight, and when Elphaba put a hand on her forehead, it was hot. Elphaba took in a shaky breath and knelt on the floor in front of her bed, flipping through the large book to the marked page where the spell to make Glinda better was written on it. She set the book down in front of her and began to recite from the book.

Oveel and Lillany crept to the doorway, watching Elphaba, mesmerized by her. They couldn't ever begin to understand her, but it was beautiful, in a way. She kept reciting the same words over and over, getting more passionate each time, and they were both hoping with her that she would be able to stop and Glinda would be better.

Elphaba continued to recite the words, growing desperate. What if it didn't work? She stopped abruptly, hearing a rustle above her. She looked up in anticipation, holding her breath as she watched Glinda, as if she made the smallest noise it could ruin the spell she hoped she had just cast.

Glinda groaned a bit, and after a bit of effort, sat up in her bed. Elphaba let her breath out and closed her eyes, putting her hands to her face.

Glinda furrowed her eyebrows and crawled over to the side of her bed. "Elphie?" she whispered, confused.

Elphaba took her hands from her face and looked up at her. She nodded.

Elphaba and Glinda stared at each other for a moment, neither one certain of what to do. "What happened?" Glinda asked.

"You got sick," Elphaba whispered to her.

Glinda nodded. "Did you…did you save me?"

Elphaba slowly nodded, and Glinda carefully got out of bed, her legs weak after not walking for a few days. Elphaba stood up hurriedly, and took her elbow. Glinda stared at her for a moment, and then threw her hands around her neck. Elphaba stood still for a moment, but then put her arms around Glinda as well.

Lillany and Oveel watched with wide eyes. Lillany had never known that Glinda and Elphaba were friendly with each other, and while Oveel suspected it, he had never known for sure. They stood awkwardly, not sure of what to do, and finally backed out of the room, closing the door with them. Neither Glinda or Elphaba turned around to look.

Glinda drew back from Elphaba, her eyes shining with tears. "I really missed you," she told her emotionally.

Elphaba nodded. "I know," she said. "I missed you too."

"I'm sorry, Elphie. I'm sorry for behaving the way I did, I'm sorry for taking you back here, I'm sorry for the poor conditions I gave you…"

"I know," Elphaba said again. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Fiyero. And me."

Glinda shook her head. "I don't care anymore, Elphie," she said. "It doesn't matter."

Elphaba gave her a small smile, and Glinda pulled her back into a hug. "How did you get here?" Glinda asked her curiously after a minute.

Elphaba stepped away from her, and noticed for the first time that Oveel and Lillany weren't there. "One of your guards, and one of your maids," she said to Glinda. "They got me in here."

Glinda smiled. "Security must be greatly relaxed," she said, eyes sparkling.

"It is, I think," Elphaba said seriously. "There was nobody in the palace around when we walked through."

Glinda raised her eyebrows. "They must need my direction more than I thought," she remarked.

Elphaba smiled and nodded, and they stared at each other for a moment, but the silence became awkward. "What are you going to do now?" Glinda asked her quietly.

Elphaba looked down and shook her head slowly. "I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know if I can go back…too many people in Oz know I'm alive, and once they find out you let me go…I don't know what I'm going to do. Or what you should do."

Glinda looked away, swallowing. She knew she had ruined everything for Elphie in her own selfish needs to have attention from her best friend again, and she hated herself for it. She blinked back the tears ready to form, and Elphaba rushed to her side. "No, Glinda, don't cry…" she hugged her best friend, and Glinda let her.

"I'm so sorry, Elphie."

…

A/N: I'm actually kind of happy with this chapter…I don't know why. The writing is better than on most of my chapters, I think. Whatever, tell me what you guys think! And I hit 150 reviews! Exciting.

BernieR: Don't worry, I try to update more quickly than once a week, I was just really slow last time! I made this chapter a few pages (though you can't tell on fanfiction) longer, my last one was too short. Have fun on your vacation, by the way!

SinfulPurgatory: Thanks! The set sounds very cool. What part do you have in the play? Good luck with it!

Viva-taquitos: Lol! Yes…I'm a Dickens…haha sorry, your review just made me laugh!

Zafr0: Haha, yes, see Fiyero…and then sing with him…oh, so hot! Sorry...Norbert fanatic moment…and anyway, yeah, I agree, Fiyero and Elphaba were born for each other! Though Fiyero and Glinda were a really cute couple…but still…the scarecrow and the Wicked Witch of the West? That is the most awesome pairing ever…

Jemima: Lol. By the way, is your name really Jemima? I keep wanting to ask you, because it's a really cool name!

Whogirl: Yeah, I agree (about Oveel). I was contemplating it because there were a lot of places I could go with it, but then decided against it because a) I don't think she would do that, she's not _wicked_ (haha, yes, I _do_ think I'm clever) like that, and b) I tried to imagine what I would write, and it sounded really terrible. Seriously, though. What would he be doing, walking around all hypnotized, doing whatever she told him? It would sound really stupid. So yeah…that was my thought process. Just so you know. ; )

Panra: Ah, I see. I think I've seen a commercial about the Sith. Anyway, hooray for Oliver! Very good impression. : )

Ari: Thanks! Glad you didn't see it. : )


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

They heard a pound on the door, and both Elphaba and Glinda jumped, letting go of each other immediately. "Open up, or we're going to have to come in!" a threatening voice sounded.

The two looked at each other with wide eyes, and Glinda took Elphaba's hand. "Elphie, that's the guards. You have to go, you have to go now!"

Elphaba looked around frantically, and the guards continued to pound on the door. "Open up in there, _right now!"_

"What do I do?" she whispered, panicked, to Glinda.

There wasn't a chance to do anything. The guard on the other side of the door shouted, "We're coming in!" and the door was opened quickly. Ten or fifteen burly guards poured into the room, and ran towards Elphaba, nearly knocking her over. Glinda was shoved from her side as they all surrounded her. Many grabbed her arms as she struggled to get away from them, and Glinda watched from the side, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with tears. Elphaba continued to struggle, but the guards had a grip on her, and they knew it. They shouted, whooping, excited about their capture, and Elphaba, throwing her shoulders to one side in a vain attempt to try to get away, caught sight of Glinda.

They held eye contact for a moment, and Elphaba stopped struggling. The guards continued to congratulate each other, acting like they weren't even there. Tears ran down Glinda's face, as if finally realizing how much Elphaba was hated in Oz. Elphaba caught her breath, and was suddenly very conscious of the guards holding her in place. She looked down, ashamed and unbelieving of her position in the world, and looked up to see Oveel and Lillany with the same expressions as Glinda, staring with wide eyes at her in the circle of guards. She held eye contact with them for a moment, also. Boq was there, not holding on to her. He turned to Glinda. "Did she hurt you? What was she doing here?" he asked professionally.

Everyone was silent, and looking at Glinda. Elphaba almost began to struggle again, but felt that would only set Glinda off on an emotional breakdown that wouldn't be able to be explained without the truth. Elphaba stayed still.

Glinda took her hand from her mouth and set it on her desk chair, as if for balance. She shook her head no towards the ground.

"What did she say? Do you know what she was doing? How long has she been here?" he asked her quietly.

Glinda looked at Elphaba again, holding eye contact. Elphaba tried to keep her gaze, but found she couldn't. She looked down.

It was silent again. Elphaba wondered if maybe Glinda was going to tell the truth – maybe all of Oz would finally know the truth and she would be resolved from any crimes she had once committed. Or was she going to lie again, like Elphaba had wanted her to do, like she should? Elphaba waited tensely, not sure of exactly what she wanted Glinda to say.

Glinda didn't say anything, but continued to stare at Elphaba, wanting a sign, not sure of what she was supposed to say. Elphaba continued to look at the ground, her arms held out stiffly by guards.

One of the guards holding Elphaba spoke up. "Perhaps this would be better discussed without _her_ here…" he said, speaking about Elphaba.

Boq nodded. "Take her to the bottom floor of the palace, and lock her in one of the rooms. She shouldn't be able to get out of there, if she was able to get out of her jail cell. Put her friends guarding the door in a different one…" he trailed off, looking at the door where Oveel and Lillany were. "Where did they go!" he shouted.

Elphaba looked up, surprised. The two of them were gone. Elphaba drew in a shaky breath, glad for their safety.

The guards were quiet, and looking around, almost expecting to see them hiding in the room. "No," Glinda said. There was a hint of panic in her voice. "No, they couldn't be…involved with the Witch's plan. One is a servant, the other's a guard, they couldn't be involved with anything."

Boq looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"I don't want them to be charged with anything," Glinda said authoritatively, her voice still shaking. Elphaba looked at her once more, but didn't meet her eyes. Boq nodded. "All right. We won't spend time looking for them." He took a key from his belt and handed it to one of the men. "Lock her downstairs, use your judgment."

The guard holding the key led, and those not holding Elphaba followed. There was a brief discussion of who would follow and who would hold on to her, and then she felt only one set of hands on either of her arms. They shoved her quickly and got her moving out the door. She looked back at Glinda once, a quick look that lasted less than a second. Elphaba saw the tears in Glinda's eyes and her own eyes filled up, spilling over and making her hiss. The guards got frightened, not sure if she was casting a spell on them all or what, and they moved her quickly. She clenched her eyes shut, stumbling over her own feet and the feet of the guards, tripping down stairs and long hallways. After an eternity of walking and falling, they decided they had reached a destination. She had her eyes open by then, not dealing with the sting well. It took three guards to open the door and shove her inside. She fell in, staying on her feet. She felt that she had done this before, somehow.

The three guards quickly closed and locked the door. She heard one assign two guards to stand guard, and then it was quiet.

The door was a heavy block of wood that she didn't see being able to open, let alone break the lock on, without assistance. There were no windows in the room, and it was completely dark – she couldn't see anything. She put her hands out and went to a wall, feeling around for anything in there. She felt nothing, only walls. After going down one wall to a corner, she determined that it was probably bigger than her jail cell – it was just as cold, though, and she definitely preferred the cell. She could see.

Elphaba slowly slid down to a sitting position in the middle of the floor, waiting – she didn't know what she was waiting for, but she knew it could be nothing good for her.

…

Glinda sat in her desk chair, and the guard stood in front of her. He had a kindly face, and she would probably have liked him if he hadn't just ordered Elphaba's captivity. She looked down, still not sure of what she was going to do. "All right, we'll start off with the first question: How long has she been here?"

Glinda took a moment to think of her answer, and decided the truth might be safe. "Only a few moments."

"Good. Do you know what she was doing here?"

Glinda thought. What was she going to say? She could lie, and say she didn't know. She could also tell the truth. If she told the truth, they could think one of three things: Elphaba had threatened her to tell her that, Glinda was in on it with Elphaba, or Glinda was telling the truth. Glinda sniffed.

"Do you know what she was doing here?" he repeated again.

Glinda threw her hands over her face, and whispered, "I don't know what she was doing here." She was horribly ashamed of herself, and couldn't believe she had just said that. She had chosen her own welfare over Elphie's.

The guard knelt down next to her. "I hate to say it, but she was probably here to kill you," he said softly.

Glinda's shoulders shook, and she couldn't believe she was going along with this lie.

"Did she say anything to you?" he asked her.

Glinda shook her head and took her hands away from her face, staring dully at the ground.

"I'm going to go check up on her," he told her. "You should go back to sleep. You've had a busy night."

Glinda shook her head and stood up. "I want to come with you," she told him. It was more of an order than it was a request.

He looked at her, and while realizing that she was his boss, still had to shake his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I want to come along."

"No," he said firmly. "Go back to sleep."

He exited out the door and shut it behind him. She breathed in sharply, and realized at that moment that no one had wondered why she wasn't still sick.

She pushed the thought out of her head; it wasn't important. Her head was filled with images of Elphaba being held onto by guards, a humiliation that no one should have to suffer. She bit her lip and ran to the door, deciding to follow.

She ran down stairs and hallways, her long skirt getting in her way. She knew where he was going, but there were many small rooms often used as security rooms in which to keep money lining the bottom floor. She didn't know which one Elphie would be in.

…

Lillany and Oveel ran out of the palace and to the woods. They hadn't seen where Fiyero and Damaran were staying in there, but they would have to find them. Lillany scampered up the hill towards where the trees started, and Oveel followed closely behind. She tore through bushes, and stopped when she reached the first tree. She turned around to Oveel. "Where would they be?" she whispered.

He looked around. "DAMARAN!" he shouted.

Immediately, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to the ground. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "We'll be caught!"

"No one will be able to hear us from up here – only those we want to be heard by," he replied softly.

She stood up, brushing herself off. Her heart was pounding, and she put a hand up suddenly. "Listen," she said urgently.

They thought they could hear people talking, and Oveel shouted Damaran's name again, though not as loudly as before.

"What?" they heard someone call out. Oveel grabbed Lillany's hand and they ran to where the voice was coming from. There was a clearing about a hundred yards away from the Emerald City and to the right, where Damaran and Fiyero were. Damaran smiled upon seeing them. "How did you find us?" he asked her incredulously.

Fiyero, however, recognized the panicked looks on both of their faces. He stood up from where he had been sleeping. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, his breath coming shorter.

"It's Elphaba," Oveel said, out of breath from running. Fiyero crossed very close to him.

"What? What about her?" Fiyero looked them both in the eyes, growing more frantic with each passing second.

"They caught her," Lillany said. "She was in Glinda's room, and she was doing a spell, and they caught her, and they're bringing her down to the bottom floor…" she was babbling and she knew it.

Fiyero's heart beat wildly. "We have to go," he said. "We have to…where is she? What's on the bottom floor?"

"A lot of rooms," Lillany gasped out. "They keep important things in there, they're near impossible to break into. They're probably keeping her in there as a type of jail cell, they're really safe." Lillany and Oveel had slipped away silently after hearing the guard's orders to put Elphaba down there. When the guards had first come up, Oveel tried to pound on the door to warn Elphaba that someone was coming, but the guards shoved them out of the way in their urgency to get to Elphaba.

Damaran watched this exchange in silence, and then got two hunting spears they had brought with them. "Let's go," he said, determinedly. "We can't just stay here waiting for something to happen."

Fiyero grabbed a spear from Damaran and, without another word, strode ahead of them to go to the palace.

"Wait!" Lillany shouted after him.

Fiyero didn't stop, but turned back to look at her for a moment. "We have to go _now_, we can't wait another second. They could have already…" he trailed off, but kept pushing his way through bushes, and past trees.

Damaran followed Fiyero closely, and Oveel and Lillany ran to catch up. Lillany ran ahead of Fiyero, and walked in front of him. "You don't know where you're going," she informed him. "I do. I'll lead."

The four of them raced down to the palace, and when they got there, Lillany led them around the back. "Be quiet," she said, hushed. "It'll be horrible for all of us if we're caught."

They all nodded, and she went to a part of the wall and pushed it in. It was a door – something none of them were expecting. They hadn't realized that the palace had any secret entrances. She went in without a second glance, and they all followed – Fiyero after Lillany, then Damaran, and then Oveel. Lillany waited for all of them to get in, and then shut the door behind them. It was grey cement, and obviously wasn't meant for the public, as it wasn't the beautiful architecture that the rest of the palace possessed. Carrying her nightgown so as not to trip on it, she started down a long hallway, where she reached a real door. She stopped when she got there and pressed her ear to it, listening for something on the other end.

When she didn't hear it, she nodded, and turned to face them. "This is the bottom floor. This door leads to one of the rooms – there are many of them. We'll go out this door and that'll lead us into a hallway – we'll need to listen carefully. We might hear her."

Fiyero went to the front and gently guided Lillany out of the way. "I'll go first," he told her.

She nodded, grateful to be out of the position of leader. He opened the heavy door with a grunt, and they all went into the room. The only light was from the hallway they had used to get in there, and the room was small. Oveel tried to close the door behind them, but Lillany stopped him. "We might need this door later," she told him. Fiyero went to the other door, that led out of the room and to the hallway Lillany promised. The door was extremely heavy, and he had to get Oveel to help him open it. They managed to, though, and the four spilled out into the hallway. There were two directions they could go, and Fiyero turned to Lillany.

She shrugged, knowing what he was asking. "I don't come down here often. She could be in any of these rooms – I expect there will be someone guarding her."

Fiyero bit his lip, trying to be calm, but finding it hard with Elphaba's life in danger. "We need to find her as quickly as possible – we need to split up. Give a shout if you find her…somehow, we'll just have to overtake the guards. Damaran, go with Oveel down that way, and Lillany, you'll come with me down the other way. If you hear us shout, come running, we'll do the same."

They all nodded, and split up. Lillany followed Fiyero closely, not sure if she was entirely willing to trust him yet. In her head, she concocted a story about how they had kidnapped her…but in her heart, she wanted to help Elphaba.

Fiyero was silent, and they walked quietly. They turned the corner, and he started as he saw the two guards down the way guarding a door. He stopped suddenly and put a hand out for Lillany, so she would go no further. They backed up behind the corner again, and were confident that they weren't seen.

Lillany looked terrified, Fiyero noted, and he thought that she wouldn't be much help. He changed his instructions. "Go find Damaran and Oveel, quickly," he told her. "I'm going to see if I can…overtake them by myself. I'll need their help, though."

Her eyes were wide, and she nodded. After holding his gaze for a second more, she ran back down the hall where Damaran and Oveel had gone.

…

Elphaba breathed in shakily, hearing the guards saying nothing on the other side of the door. It was silent everywhere, and she rubbed her forehead with her hands. She closed her eyes, not liking the fact that when she closed her eyes she saw just as much as she did when she had them open.

She could faintly hear that the guards on the other side were talking. By the high pitch in their voices, she thought they were nervous. She heard a yell.

"Fiyero?" she whispered to herself, disbelieving. She didn't know, but it sounded like him. She heard thumps and crashes, what sounded like people fighting. She stood up and raced to the door, putting her ear to it to try to hear what was going on. She heard more people than just Fiyero, now, people fighting. She heard one final thump, and a silence. She then heard Lillany say, "Oh…I didn't mean to hit him that hard, is he okay?"

Elphaba couldn't stop herself, and she began to pound on the door. "Fiyero!" she shouted desperately.

"Yes, I'm here!" it was muffled and faint, even though he was shouting right on the other side. "Elphaba, are you okay?"

"Yes! You have to unlock the door, one of the guards probably has a key!" she shouted into the door.

She couldn't hear anything for a couple of moments, and then she heard clicking in the lock. Once it clicked, she immediately felt around for the handle, and tried to push it open. As suspected, she couldn't. "I can't get it open!" she shouted, frustrated.

"We'll start pulling, and you push, on the count of three, all right?" she heard him shout. "One, two…"

Elphaba pushed as hard as she could, and this time it opened, with Fiyero and Oveel pulling on the other side. Once the door was open wide enough, she slipped out of the dark room and fell straight into Fiyero's arms. He held her closely for a moment, and she closed her eyes, breathing hard. She straightened, and looked at the guards on the ground. She looked away quickly, not wanting to look at them.

"They're both alive," Lillany said. "I think they're unconscious."

Elphaba shuddered, and nodded. She took a look at the four of them, grateful they had come but fearing for their safety. "We have to go," Elphaba instructed. "They're coming back soon…"

She trailed off as she saw Boq watching the whole thing, with Glinda behind him. Fiyero followed her gaze, as did the other three, and they started to shrink back behind Elphaba and Fiyero, as if they could protect them from Boq.

Boq was silent for a moment, and then raised his hand above his head, snapping his fingers. At his call, another fifteen or so guards came behind him for reinforcements. The two groups faced off for only a second, and then Damaran, Fiyero, Oveel, Lillany, and Elphaba all started to run back to where they (minus Elphaba) had come in to the palace.

"Five of you, follow them!"

…

I AM SO SORRY!

I AM SO, _SO_ SORRY!

It has been so long! I am so so so so so sorry! Nearly every day I would think about this, and how I was putting it off, until finally I was using Word doing a project for school, and just…started to write. I have one more chapter in me, I didn't want to overload you with too much in one chapter. I know this chapter isn't very good, but I think it's more important that I just get done. I think I know where I'm going, but I am SO SORRY! I'd respond to all of your reviews, but it's three in the morning, and I'm drained. I'm not sure how long it'll take me to update, but I'll work on it as much as I can so that you have a conclusive ending. Again, this chapter is not realistic, overly dramatic and cheesy, and probably one of my worst ones. Again, keep in mind, it's three in the morning. I'M SO SORRY! And now I'm done, off to sleep. SO SORRY!


	25. Chapter Twenty Five and Epilogue

Elphaba, Fiyero, Lillany, Damaran, and Oveel all fled from Boq and his army, with five of the Gale Force members running after them. The hallways were narrow, and Lillany led them all, and following her, in order, were Oveel, Damaran, Fiyero, and then Elphaba. Lillany didn't know where she was going, really, and paused at an intersection, causing a bit of a traffic jam among the five. Her eyes darted wildly, and then she ran to the right. They had all been trying to follow the direction that they had come in, but, in their panic, had run in the opposite direction. Fiyero looked behind him once, and behind Elphaba saw that the Gale Force were gaining on them. "Go faster!" he shouted to Lillany.

Lilllany ran to a door at the end of a hallway, hoping it wasn't locked. She tugged on it, and as Oveel and Damaran reached it, they began pulling it also. It was definitely locked. As Fiyero and Elphaba caught up, the five Gale Force members caught up with them. Before Elphaba had even a chance to stop running, one of them grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her away from her four friends. There was a spear held at her throat in less than an instant, before she even knew what was happening, and one other guard held another spear to her, and each had one of her arms. The other three pointed them at the group of four cornered in front of the locked door. Elphaba locked eyes with Fiyero. Her eyes held no emotion, nor did his, they didn't need any; they each knew what the other was thinking.

A solitary voice from a guard in front of Elphaba, pointing his spear in the direction of her loved ones turned his head towards Elphaba and the other two guards. "Kill her," he said. The words sounded almost as if they were spoken in passing, "Nice day", or "Kill her".

Elphaba closed her eyes. She was done. She was through fighting. The spear began to press against her temple…

"NO!"

She opened her eyes in surprise. Not because someone was arguing the fact she be killed, but because she knew who they were from – Fiyero, Glinda, and Boq.

She turned around as much as she could with her arms being held onto, and the guards at her side put down their spears. Glinda and Boq were behind the Gale Force, out of breath from running behind all of them, obviously. Everyone stared at Glinda and Boq silently, surprised. Glinda and Boq stared back, Glinda in fear, and Boq in surprise at himself. Boq waited a moment, and then, distraught, walked himself out of the situation and around the corner, out of sight.

It was still silent, as everyone gazed at Glinda, not knowing what to do. She stood awkwardly, twenty feet behind them, her arms behind her back. She then pulled her right arm from behind her back, holding a gun.

It was as if the air lost a quarter of its oxygen from everyone in the room gasping in surprise at Glinda, and if it was possible, everyone got a little more stiff. Glinda, looking mentally unstable, pointed the gun at all of them, and then to her own head.

"Glinda!" Elphaba exclaimed in panic. Nobody stopped her from speaking.

Glinda looked a little more calm, though she was shaking. "Elphaba," she instructed, beckoning with her hand for Elphaba to join her.

Elphaba continued to stare at Glinda in fear of what she might do, and the guards kept their hold on her.

"Let go," Glinda hissed at them. She remembered Fiyero's rescue of Elphaba after Nessarose's death. "Or explain to Oz how you watched as Glinda the Good was slain." Reluctantly, the guards let go of Elphaba's arms. Elphaba tried to appear calm as she walked to Glinda.

She walked slowly, noticing Glinda's scared eyes and shaking hand. "Glinda," she started quietly as she walked, "it's okay. Let me have the gun…"

Glinda put her arm out for Elphaba, and put her arm on her shoulder, directing the green woman behind her, trying to shield her, in a way. Elphaba stood slightly behind Glinda, trying once again to talk her out of whatever she was doing.

"Glinda, it's okay now, I'm here, you have to give me the gun, though…"

Glinda shook her head. She knew what she was doing. "Put down your spears," she instructed. "And stand aside."

After looking at each other for a moment, the guards did. Fiyero, Oveel, Lillany, and Damaran all walked to Glinda slowly, not sure of what they were doing.

Glinda nodded at the guards. "You will tell no one," she said, the hand holding the gun growing steadier. "Tomorrow there will be a conference with all of Oz, and you will tell _no one _about this."

Everyone was baffled by Glinda, but the guards nodded. "Don't follow us," Glinda told them as she put down the gun and led the others to her room.

…

The six stood in Glinda's room – Fiyero, Elphaba, Damaran, Oveel, Lillany, and Glinda. They all wanted to say something, but no one wanted to be the first, so they all stood staring awkwardly at each other. Elphaba had the gun, and she fingered it for a moment, then set it down carefully on Glinda's bed. "I was worried, Glinda," Fiyero said. Everyone looked at him in surprise, as everyone – including Glinda and Elphaba – were expecting Glinda or Elphaba to speak first.

Glinda stared at him solemnly. "Thank you," she said, not sure of what else to say.

She turned around to face Elphaba. "You left the Grimmerie here," she said.

Elphaba smirked. "I noticed that when I could have used it to save all of our lives, thanks for letting me know, though."

Glinda smiled. "You'll need it again, Elphie," she said. Her face grew serious.

Elphaba looked puzzled. "Glinda…I don't want it. You can keep it. Tomorrow Fiyero and I will leave…"

Glinda shook her head swiftly. "No." she said firmly. "You saved me – you can save the rest of Oz, too."

Elphaba stared at her for a moment in confusion, then remembered the sickness. Her eyes grew wide. "That's what you meant by the conference," she nodded, understanding. "I can't, Glinda. I can't. I don't want them all to die, I really, really don't. But they wouldn't let me put a _spell_ on them. Glinda, I can't do that."

"Yes you can, Elphie!" Glinda said determinedly. "You have to. If the people of Oz love me like I think they do, I'll explain it to them, and they'll have to let you!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, with the other four watching them. They certainly were an odd pair, the well dressed – yet ruffled looking – Glinda, with her pink cheeks and blonde hair, and the dirty, messy, exhausted looking, and very green Elphaba, with her long, dark brown hair in need of a hairbrush. But something changed, and they were the same. Elphaba knew that she had to try, for Glinda, and for the rest of the Emerald City, and Glinda knew the same thing. As Lillany, Damaran, Oveel, and Fiyero watched, the two women knew exactly what each had to do.

…

"Citizens of Oz!" Glinda cried out. Floating high above Oz, she spoke to them from her bubble. Elphaba waited inside Glinda's room with the other four. It was the day after Glinda's threatened suicide (which she assured all of them was definitely only a threat) and Glinda had called anyone who was stricken with the sickness in Oz to be assembled in the midst of the town in front of the palace. She told no one why.

Elphaba clutched the Grimmerie tightly, feeling like a politician about to make a speech. Fiyero stood next to her, and Damaran across. Lillany and Oveel sat on Glinda's bed, a respectable few feet apart.

"Show me the spell," Damaran whispered to her.

"Damaran," she whispered impatiently.

"What?"

"Damaran, I can't, it would have horrible effects on you, because you're not sick."

Damaran was quieted for a moment, and Elphaba was glad. She didn't need to deal with him at the moment, she was too nervous about everything else.

"I've asked you to bring anyone with the sickness here today!" Glinda was continuing outside of her window, not more than ten feet above it, speaking to the thousands of people all assembling in the same spot in the City. "As some of you may know, I also had the sickness. There is a cure, though!"

Glinda paused, nervous. She took a deep breath, and then went on. "I trust you all remember the Wicked Witch of the West." She heard the gasps from the audience, and saw many people moving about at that point. She ignored it and continued. "I'm here to tell you the _truth_ about the Witch."

And Glinda did. Elphaba watched from inside of Glinda's window, not sure whether to be happy that the truth was finally getting out or scared that Oz would turn against Glinda. The crowd was quiet, she noticed, which she hoped was a good sign. Glinda told them everything – Elphaba's birth, meeting her at Shiz, what really went on at the Wizard's palace, all about Chistery, Dr. Dillamond, Madame Morrible, Dorothy, everything. When she had finished, she took a deep breath and looked out among the crowd. "Her name is Elphaba," she said. She had said it before in her speech, but she said it again. "Elphie. And she's a good person – you all were misinformed. Please…you have to understand."

Elphaba looked at Fiyero for a moment, took a deep breath, and stepped on to Glinda's balcony. There were shrieks as she was seen, but that was only to be expected. Elphaba stared up at Glinda, waiting further instruction.

"No!" Glinda shouted at the panicking crowd. "Please!" She turned to Elphaba. "Go ahead," she told her.

Elphaba gave a brief look at the crowd staring up at her in complete fear. She opened the Grimmerie to the page she had been holding with her hand, and set it on the balcony ledge. She began to chant the spell, and as she did, there was chaos below her. Everyone was trying to get away, fearing that the Wicked Witch was putting a curse on all of them. Elphaba drowned all of it out, absorbed only in the Grimmerie and her own chanting. When she had finished, she looked up at all of them, and there was silence. A horrible smell that no one had noticed was there was lifted after a few moments, and there was more chaos – but happy chaos, as all had been cured.

Elphaba watched Oz with a serious face, showing no expression. Glinda laughed hysterically and clasped her hands together. "Elphie, you did it!" she shouted above the nose down to Elphaba. "You saved all of them!"

Elphaba stood gazing up at her, and she smiled briefly. They stared at each other, and suddenly, Glinda could read the sadness in Elphaba's eyes.

Elphaba couldn't stay in the Emerald City. She couldn't help Glinda run Oz…it was something Glinda was going to have to do on her own. They each realized they had their own completely different lives, and though neither life was perfect, each was perfect for their self. Elphaba may no longer be a fugitive – but she could never live in Oz again. Nothing would be able to make everyone forget about her lifetime of rejection. Glinda read it all in Elphaba's eyes, and understood. Some things you just couldn't fix.

Elphaba smiled at Glinda, sadly, and Glinda did the same. Elphaba went back inside of Glinda's room.

…

**Epilogue**

Damaran stayed in the Emerald City, living with his sister. Lillany kept her job as Glinda's maid, though Oveel quit his job working at the Gale Force. After seeing what happened to Elphaba, he hated working there. He got the first job he could…and began working in a shoe store. He began making more…though it would be another couple of months before he would finally ask Lillany on a date.

Though not quite a Munchkin anymore (at least not in appearance), Boq moved back to Munchkinland. His own grudges aside, he grew to like Elphaba, after knowing her. He hated himself for trying to ruin Elphaba's life, and he hated Elphaba's sister for ruining his own. His life wasn't terribly ruined, though…he became governor of Munchkinland.

Elphaba and Fiyero moved back to their castle in Kiamo Ko, a little shaken by the whole experience, but closer and happier for it. They felt they probably didn't have to fear the law anymore, and they lived more peacefully.

And Glinda? After the rest of Oz had unassembled and gone home, happy and well, Glinda went back in her room through her balcony. Everyone was gone. Fiyero, Elphaba, Lillany, Damaran, and Oveel had all left, going their separate ways. The room seemed quiet without them. Glinda looked around her empty room, sighing. She noticed a piece of paper on her bed, folded. She went to it curiously, not sure what it was. She opened it and read it:

Dear Glinda,

I hope you can forgive me for leaving without a goodbye. I'm sorry for all of our fighting, and I'm sorry for ever betraying you. I promise, this was not our last meeting, I know we'll meet again. I love you with all of my heart.

Your best friend,

Elphie

Glinda smiled, and read the letter again. Carefully folding the letter up again, she set it on her nightstand. By the time the month was over, the paper was worn from being read and folded up so many times.

That wasn't the only thing that needed closure. A secretary brought her a bill that needed to be signed. "Those animal rights groups," the secretary sighed. "They want the Animals to be treated like first-class citizens. If you sign it, they'll be treated equally. I wouldn't sign it, you don't have to…"

Glinda took a quill and carefully signed her name to the bottom.

…

A/N: OMG I'm done! Thank you all so unbelievably much for all of your support while writing this! To be honest, I wrote this story for me, to give myself closure to what happened to Elphaba and Glinda's relationship – I hated the ending in the musical. But after awhile, however, I really enjoyed that I was writing this for you, also! So thank you all so much! I'm kind of sad, that this one's over. I really enjoyed (for the most part) writing it.

However, I'm going to start a new story really soon, following the events of Elphaba's life from after Defying Gravity to the end of the show – so basically, what happened during intermission, then what happened during act II written in story form. Only elaborating. Make sense? No? All right, you'll see.

I also plan on writing a sequel to this story. That will come a lot later...I think I want to start on my new story first, then the sequel to this. Maybe I'll write both at once. Maybe not. Who knows…who knows…

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS STORY!


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